


They all die eventually

by ettam



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Batfamily, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian Wayne has Powers, Damian Wayne-centric, Daminette, MariBat, Marie or Marinette don't mind, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng-centric, Marinette Licia, Meta Damian Wayne, Meta Marinette Dupain Cheng, Onesided Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Original Character(s), Protective Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, They all have superpowers, mlb crossovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:53:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 36,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25381174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ettam/pseuds/ettam
Summary: In this twisted version of Miraculous, kwamis don't live on the earth, and intsead their souls are one day given to chosen humans, who will then live forever. Join Marinette, Damian, Adrien, Alya, Nino, Lila and Chloe as they navigate their way through life together.Will Damian finally find true happiness in a new group of friends?Tom and Sabine are concerned,Ms.Bustier just wants to help,The class is puzzled.Full of lots of Daminette, inspiring friendship moments and dangerous adventures.STARTED: 27th June 2020ENDED: ???
Relationships: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Bridgette/Félix Graham de Vanily, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Comments: 52
Kudos: 303





	1. A fathers regrets

Toms's daughter had once told him that she was a magical girl who fought the forces of evil every day. Of course, he didn't believe her but decided to play along as she seemed to be going out and making more friends. So when the poor man came across a blurry video of what looked like his beloved daughter fighting a massive beast, he completely lost it. 

In the video, Marinette seemed to be glowing, shooting blazing beams out of her hands. 5 other people who looked to be her age surrounded her. Tom could recognize a few. Alya and Nino, Marinette's long-time friends. The redhead was hovering above them, throwing daggers at it while the boy, sitting carefully in a tree, was shielding his team every time they nearly got hit. 

Then there was a blonde: no, two of them actually. Adrien and Chloé. Tom had heard about them briefly. Adrien, the stunning model, sat at the same desk as Marinette in class. They were good friends, and they had a sibling-like relationship. Then Chloé. The ex-bully was Marinette's best friend. After the deal with a girl Marinette used to refer to as Lie-la, Alya had apologized but they weren't as close as before. When the dad had been told that only Alya, Nino, Adrien, and shockingly the Lie-la girl herself had apologized, he was furious. He quickly got over it when he saw how happy his daughter was, but still held a grudge against the class. 

Chloé, who was holding a round, red object was interacting quietly with the Blonde boy who was holding blue feathers. Tom had no idea what he was doing with them, so he turned his attention to the brunette girl hiding behind a bush. With a clear view of her face, he might have been able to tell who it was, though sadly the video only showed her legs. Adrien was glancing her way every few seconds, maybe waiting to carry out a plan of sorts. 

The minute-long clip ended soon after the group set up an elaborate trap and 'banished' the monster, which turned into a person and quickly ran off. 

The middle-aged man was left confused, worried, and angry. Confused, because he saw things he didn't think were possible. Worried, as his only child was out in dangerous woods fighting terrible creatures. And angry. Angry at the monster for trying to hurt his daughter. Angry...at himself, for being unable to protect his daughter. For not being there for her when she really needed him. He wanted to do something. He had to do something!

Exiting the full screen, he checked for a date. 17th of November 2019, 2:37 am, Paris. 5 hours ago. He slammed the laptop shut and rushed past his wife, startling her. He peeked his head through the trap door and looked around. 

Gone.

"Marinette...?" He asked, pulling himself further into the girl's bedroom. She was nowhere to be found.

She was gone.

If he had looked just a bit closer that day, he would have noticed small things had disappeared, such as her precious cat pillow which she always slept with, or the big, red box she kept on the corner of her desk. The one thing he did notice was the family photo they had taken last year in China, and the class photo she treasured dearly, had been removed from their frames and taken as well.

Had someone broken in? Tom decided against that because they would have stolen more valuable stuff. Had Marinette taken all these things? To where? Scanning the scene, he finally saw the note and package In the middle of the room. With his brows furrowed he walked over to it. He bent down, hurting his back in the process. 

'To my Maman and Papa'   
'Love, Marinette.'

After fiddling with the box for a while he finally opened it. He hesitated. This was addressed to Tom and Sabine. He should probably get her. 

"Honey!" he called downstairs, "You might want to see this..." Sabine came rushing up shortly after.   
"Tom? Are you ok?" she looked around, "Where's Marinette?

"I...I don't know..." he picked up the package and letter, offering them to her, "She left these for us, I think." His wife blinked, before taking them. Carefully, she took the item out of the box, inspecting it. It was a necklace. The necklace that they gave to her on her 5th birthday, passed down in their family. Tom was puzzled. Stumped. Confused.   
Sabine gasped, before unfolding the letter in inhuman speed.

'Hi, mom! Hi dad!   
I know you're probably really confused right now, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've just left. I'm sorry that I haven't told you anything, and I'm sorry for causing you pain. You don't understand right now, but you're my parents, my family, and I'm hoping you can understand what I'm about to tell you: understand why I did what I did. It's time I tell you everything...

I was 11 when I met Master Fu, or as you know him, my therapist, Mr.Chang. I saved him from being hit by a car. He offered me friendship in return. We talked for months until he told me about the miraculous. The gods and reincarnations. He explained how sometimes he saw a child, a special one, all with different interests, and taught them who they were. He taught me who I am, and I can finally share it with you.

The goddess, Tikki, became immortal at the age of 15 and has been alive all of eternity. I am her, just without my past memories. I was granted the ladybug earrings, which helped me harness my abilities. I have gone to Gotham in hopes of finding my other half, Plagg. I sense he's in Gotham, and his powers are currently unbalanced without me. I must go find him, my team, and everyone else is counting on me. Being a leader is like being a parent. You try to keep your children safe but you just don't always know what you're doing. I hope I've made the right decision. I have suspected you both are reincarnations of Xuppu and Daizzi. I have left you the miraculous to protect yourself, and the city. I've left my contact details so we can talk, but please don't come to find me. I'm under a new name now. Marie Kante-Chien. All my files are deleted from the Paris system. Don't show anyone else this letter.

I love you both,  
-Marinette'

Phone: ** **** ******

And just like that, the parents were left hugging each other, bawling their eyes out, while also knowing their daughter was going to change the world.

———————————————————————

Taking one last look around the room, Marinette, or rather Marie, finally let the tears fall. She probably wouldn't see her parents for a few years: she would love to stay, but she can't betray her team's trust. They need her. She needs them. Checking for the tickets the 23rd time, she laughed as she saw Lila waiting outside with her arms crossed, smirking. She had 3 suitcases next to her, a duffel bag slung over her shoulder and a purse clutched in her hands.

Marie quickly changed into her chosen outfit and lifted the window up high enough so that she could climb out. 

The most important things she had were the guardian books, keys to their apartment, and finally, a family photo. She started to tear up again. Hopefully, her parents would understand.   
"Come on Mari!" Lila called, "You'll still get to call them, remember?" She started jumping up to try and look in her room. She wiped her wet eyes.  
"I know, I know! I'm coming."   
Stepping carefully out of the window, Marie giggled at her friend's pout.   
"My hairs gonna get ruined!" she pointed at Marie, "And it's your fault!" she said playfully. 

They had both been friends since they were 13, and they had gotten used to each other's teasing antics. Lila would always grumble about how Marie had done her makeup bad or embarrassed her when they went out, and in return, Marie would tease Lila, saying she dressed atrociously and had about 20 boyfriends. 

They found comfort in one another and vented to the other because they would always find a way to lighten the mood. Being Lila's friend wasn't as insufferable as Marie thought it would be. She would defend Lila from bullies making fun of her past lies and Lila would always be there during her panic attacks. Overall, they were a duo not to be messed with. The only thing better was Marie and Chloé. A ruthless pair. If you so much as just glanced at their friends, they would destroy you in front of everyone. There was also the Marinette/Marie protection squad (Chloé, Lila, Alya, Nino, Adrien, Luka, Kagami, Max, Kim, and Alix) but she didn't need to know about that. Peeking over at her friend, she spoke up.  
"Hey, um, Lila?"  
"Yeah?" Lila sent a concerned glance her way. She put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and Marie relaxed a bit.  
"Can we just...take the portal? I know you bought the tickets and everything bu-"   
"Sure! It's ok to be nervous, Mari-bug. This is scary," They turned and ducked into a dark alleyway before Lila closed her eyes and called out a short 'Voyage!'.

She sent one last longing glance at her home, before turning to her friend and giving a determined nod. Her team was waiting. With that in mind, the young girl turned to join hands with Lila, before striding in the portal.

"MARINETTE!"

Before Marie had a chance to answer, the girl was tackled onto the floor. 

"Hi, Chloe..." Marie tried to get up, "Can you get off me?" Alya and Nino snickered at the situation. She sent them a mock glare while standing up. 

"Wheres Adrien-" she yawned, "-gone off to?" Marie quickly dusted herself off. 

"He went to the shops to buy us disguises," Alya answered. 

"You know he's going to buy us ridiculous costumes, right?" Lila deadpanned. Marie nodded in agreement, crossing her arms. Nino chuckled nervously, visibly sweating. 

"He's only buying eye contacts and accessories. We're all going shopping tomorrow. And dying our hair, of course." Chloe stated as if it were obvious.

"WHA-" before Lila could object, Adrien kicked the door open, making an overly dramatic entrance. 

"BUGINETTE!" He screeched, knocking her onto the floor. Again. Marie hissed at him. 

"What the fuck are you wearing?"

Adrien was dressed in a long, pitch-black trench coat and massive love heart glasses. He had bright red contacts on and a flower crown. At the door, there were 13 humungous bags. Primark's, Morrisons, Boots, BQ, Claires. 

"All the best clothes of the year...?" everyone stared at him.

'Idiot.'

"Alright, let's see what you got, dude." 

Adrien sprang up, like a child on Christmas, and rushed over to the bags gleefully. He reached for the Claires bag first.

(And yes, I'm really going to list everything he bought in one, big paragraph)

All the girls sat around him, while Nino helped him unpack it all. Out of the Claires bag, he took hair extensions, a bit of makeup, and a few thick blankets. Good enough. He took basic frozen meals out of the Morrisons bags and coats out of the Primark one. Additionally, he took toiletries out of the boots bag and decorations out of the 3 B+Q bags. 

"How much money did you give him?" Marie questioned their decisions.

"Around $300 I think," Alya put a hand under her chin.

"Are you sure you don't mind giving us this money, dudettes?"

Chloe, Lila, and Marie shared a look.

"I got it from the hundreds of commissions I did this year."

"My mom gives me a ridiculous allowance every week,"

"I stole it from my Daddy."

"..."

"I'm sorry, what?"

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow..." she breathed out. Every room was stunning! Marie was left in awe while looking at the girls' room.

"These beds are so comfy!" Alya shouted with her voice muffled in the pillow.

"Yep."

"Agreed,"

"I call dibs on one of the middle ones!" Marie giggled, unpacking the contents of her backpack in the side cabinet. Finally, she found her family and class photos. Sighing, she turned to see Alya was also distraught looking at a family album. She smiled half-heartedly at the girl to which she cheered up slightly. Placing the photo in a draw with other keepsakes, she plopped onto the bed.

"I bought more pillows and blankets from my room! Who wants some?" Lila ended the silence, taking 6 pillows and 3 blankets out of her massive suitcase.

"Oooh, hand 'em over girl!" Alya cheered.

"Same here!"

"My Daddy already bought me golden ones, so no thanks."

Alya snorted, and Lila passed two pillows to me, two to Alya, and two more for herself.

"Are you still gonna cook us your famous bread tonight, Marie?"

"Can we just order pizza? I'm tired!" Marie whined, "Pleeeaaase...?" she gave them baby-doll eyes.

"Yeah sure," Lila gave a thumbs up.

"YES!" Marie jumped up, running around.

"You don't seem that tired." 

"Bitch."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Doorbell!*

6 heads whipped around to look at the door.

"Act natural," Chloe ordered.

"For this kind of situation, the most natural thing to do would be to panic."

"NO, that's not what I meant! Act like its a normal day!"

"My 'normal' days of late consist of a lot of panic," Adrien insisted.

"Will you just cooperate?" Lila complained.

"When a person is panicking they are not able to cooperate that well!" He argued.

"DUDE!" Nino walked through the 5 of them. 

He slammed the door open and it revealed a young man holding 2 pizza boxes. Nino didn't say anything, he just scanned his card.

"Hold on. How old are you guys...?"

Nino went to answer but Alya was quicker.

"Wouldn't you like to know, pizza boy." And to that, she shut the door in his face. They all just stared at each other. Adrien spoke up.

"Well, that was easier than expected."

"Have you seriously never done that before?"

"..."

"Dude..." Nino looked at him like someone just died.

"Fucking open the box. I'm starving and my coffee's going cold."

"Jesus dupain-cheng, ok." Chloe snickered at her best friend's antics.

Marie's stomach growled and she hid her face in her hands. She hadn't eaten anything other than breakfast as she was too caught up in decorating and unpacking. All her friends started laughing quietly.

*SMASH*

"Put the box down! Don't move!"

Nino passed out.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hiding behind a chimney, listening to a man's conversation, he peeked his head out slightly. 

The young man looked around him, before speaking into his earpiece.

"I'll be there soon."

He was a 20-year-old brunette, dressed in a domino's uniform. He was holding a pizza box, but since they discovered he worked for Two-face, they suspected he was carrying something else in the box. Soon, the man stopped at a large apartment. In the rich part of the city, he noted. The apartment number was 334. Robin pressed his earpiece.

"Tim, do some research on the apartment where I am."

He waited a few minutes before he replied, "Sold just yesterday to 6 anonymous people,"

"Right."

"Not even gonna say thanks, baby bird?"

"Shut up Todd."

Robin placed his hand on the roof. It cracked. 'Shit, I forgot about that.' Recently, Damian had been breaking nearly everything he touched. He talked to Bruce about it, but he didn't know what to do. He was still researching it. 

Robin sighed in annoyance when they didn't open the door for another 5 minutes. He could hear quiet whispering inside.

He looked in the window. They were all surrounding the box, talking.

"Well, that was easier than expected."

"Have you seriously never done that before?"

"..."

"Dude..."

"I think we've found them. Let's enter," Nightwing, Red Robin, and Red hood landed next to him.

"Right."

"3..."

"Fucking open the box. I'm starving and my coffee's going cold."

"2..."

"Jesus dupain-cheng, ok."

"1.."

"Hold on gu-" 

"GO!"

They smashed the windows and landed, glaring menacingly at the people inside. The boy wearing blue silk pajamas fell face-first into the floor. Robin blinked. 'Are these imbeciles really working for Two-face...?' He thought.

"Hey! We're not imbeciles..." A blonde boy shouted.

"How did yo-oh, so you're meta-humans, then?" Robin, folded his arms, one brow raised.

"I don't know what that is, but it sounds fucking awesome," A girl with big, black glasses said, starstruck.

"We really need to talk about your outfit, traffic-light-boy," Another spoke up. She had a white, furry onesie on and short black hair. She was really pretty. 

‘I did not just think that.' Robin caught himself. He blushed slightly and looked away.

"Why are you in our house?" A girl with sausage hair narrowed her eyes at them.

"Why is your hair like sausages?" Red hood asked, smirking.

"ASSHOLE!" the pretty girl screeched.

"MARINETTE NO-!"

*SMACK!*

A large, fluffy slipper hit Hood in the face.

"..."

Nightwing laughed. A small smile was on Red Robins's face.

"Ugh...my head hurts..." The boy on the floor looked up, "Who are you, and why are you dressed like anime characters...?" Robin was just even more confused. Who are we?

"What are your names and how old are you?" Nightwing put on a slightly more serious expression, walking closer to them.

"Uh...im Nino dudes..." Nino looked lost while his girlfriend helped him up.

"Adrien!" The boy smiled.

"Alya," The girl was more suspicious.

"My names none of your business."

"..."

"...Its Lila," She looked away angrily.

"Chloe. But its Miss to you peasants!"

"Be nice Chlo!" The Adrien boy frowned.

"I'm Marie Kante-Chien! Nice to meet you!" She and Nightwing shook hands, smiling. Robin scowled. They all just gave them their names that easily? Idiots.

"No, that's not your name."

The pretty girl-Marie, visibly tensed before turning to Red Robin.

"Yes, it is?" She looked confused and a bit nervous.

"Why did your friends refer to you as 'Marinette and Dupain-cheng' then?" Tim raised a brow, questioning her. '

Ah, so she was lying. Pretty convincing.'

Tim smirked.

"How old are you guys?"

"Everyone apart from Marinette is 15. She's 15 next week," Chloe stated, standing protectively in front of said girl.

"So her names Marinette, then?" Hood asked, walking to stand next to Nightwing.

"Uh, yeah." The blonde boy said.

"Why did you lie?" Robin walked up to Marinette. She looked ready to attack but also scared. Not of him, though.

"It's none of our business, Robin," Nightwing walked over to he pizza box, "Lets just check the box."

"You better not eat any," The girl in front of him mumbled.

They carefully opened the box...only to see pizza. They all deadpanned.

"...Well, uh, we'll be leaving I guess..."

Red Hood smiled awkwardly before grappling out. Nightwing walked over there, but looked back to Marinette.

"Why did you lie about your name?" He asked, genuinely curious. The girl just stared at him, before getting up. 

"If you tell anyone we even exist, I'll kill all of you."


	2. Origins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Origins chapter.

"WATCH OUT-!"

*CRASH*

Her limp body landed a few meters away from the car, completely disfigured. The rain got heavier as a crowd was formed, containing a few of the girls terrified friends and a pair of devastated parents, screaming at everyone to let them see Marinette.  
Black spots were blocking the dying girls vision.  
'Just like a ladybug...'   
she thought idly.

———————————————————————

His ears twitched while he looked around. The words 'Help...I need help," wouldn't stop playing in his head.  
Looking around him, the young boy tried to spot  
Where the voice might have been coming from.  
Smoke was pouring out of the large shopping centre. At that moment, Damian knew exactly what to do.

———————————————————————  
At the centre of a small room an elderly-man sat reading the day's newspaper. Seven different headlines intrigued him.

Daughter of the Paris mayor nearly dies after stepping outside in the snow!

Teen model Adrien Agreste refuses to go anywhere in the rain with his Mother: a family argument perhaps?

Young teen girl found sleeping peacefully under a layer of snow. She survived!

Teenage boy spent 3 days under water without coming back up!

Diplomats daughter found eating hay and grass with no problems.

Newest Wayne saves 3 people in a burning building. Claims he could hear voices!

Girl gets hit by a car! She was later found out of her hospital bed, completely healed.

The man looked up and smiled.  
"It looks like I don't have to look for them, they came right to me..."  
———————————————————————

She ran to the nearest building. The words 'Chang's therapy sessions' was written on a sign. It will have to do, she thought. The 11-year-old girl pushed the door open and stepped in.  
"Hello? Is anyone here?" She called out. A small, old man with a cane walked in.   
"Hello, who might you be young lady?" He asked. The man looked surprised at seeing her for a moment before smiling softly. Maybe he didn't get many customers.   
"I'm M-marinette Dupain-Cheng... I was wondering..." she paused, scratching her neck, "I was wondering if I could stay here until the rain dies out. I pass o-out in the c-cold sometimes," the girl giggled nervously.  
"Of course, that's fine-" he gestured to a chair, "-have a seat." he offered before going into the other room.  
Marinette sat down, rubbing her hands together to stay warm. 

She jumped when she heard the man speak again. "Would you like some tea?" he brought two teacups over and placed them on the table.  
"Uh, yes please! Thank you," Marinette beamed at him. The man, who she assumed was called Mr.Chang, sat in front of her. Slowly, she sipped the tea. She sighed blissfully.   
"This is amazing...what flavour is it?"  
"It's a secret recipe," M.Chang smiled and winked. Marinete laughed genuinely this time. 

"I don't think I got your name, sir."   
"I actually don't really have one..." Marinette raised a brow at this. He doesn't have a name.  
"I never met my parents and I grew up on my own. I think I was in a coma, before being left in a house, this house, and then waking up on my own."

"I'm so sorry!" She placed a gentle hand on his, tears streaming down her face. She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. 

The two sat and talking for ten minutes, before the rain stopped. Before she left, he offered her free therapy sessions.

"I can tell you are distressed. You do not have to come, but I think it would help."

"I'll think about it. Thank you M.Chang!"

"It's okay. I'll see you around, Marinette."

'I'll see you very soon...'  
———————————————————————

At some point that year, M.Chang had visited Adriens home as his 'Chinese teacher' to give him the miraculous and explain. He had given Marinette the earrings that same day, and they became a secret-monster-fighting-duo in the woods. 

———————————————————————

"So I'm guessing we're...partners?" He asked, questioning his own question.   
"I think so!" The petite girl smiled softly at him, and he chuckled out of pure joy.  
"It's a pleasure to work with you miss...?" Adrien held out his hand.  
"Marinette!" she pulled her hood down and finally looked him in the eyes, "Adrien...? Wow!" Marientte blinked.   
He gasped. "Oh! Ha! It's a small world I guess!"   
They both shared a laugh.

*ROAR!*

"I guess that's our cue! Let's go!"

———————————————————————-

They worked well together, but Adrien was not the cat. Around a week in they realised Adrien was the peacock. It strengthened the two's friendship as they didn't feel forced to be opposites any longer.

———————————————————————-

"We're gonna go to Mast- er, M.Changs therapy session now, right Adrien?"

"Yes Yes! We're definitely going to the therapy session right now!"

Adrien and Marinette spoke loud enough for the entire class to hear. It had been 3 weeks and Alya and Nino still hadn't cracked them. The whole class was waiting for answers. Even Chloé! 

As soon as they left, Nino shouted, "All right dudes! Me and Alya are gonna follow them!"

"Maybe they're making out in a closet!" Alix joked, causing the majority of the class to chortle. 

"As if my Adrikins would even talk to her!"

"..."

"Let's go, Nino."

———————————————————————-

After following them, Master Fu had caught them ears-dropping on their conversation. After the blonde and black haired friends left, he gave them miraculous and a location. They joined the team and had their first fight.

———————————————————————-

"Nino, Alya!" Adrien did a shocked anime pose. Grinning, he introduced himself, "Welcome to the team-" Coccinelle (Ladybug: sorry, wanted to change her name) causally summoned an item in the background, "I'm Plumes bleues! What are your guys names?"

"Is this roleplay session?"

"WAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Coccinelle landed on the ground in front of them.  
"Marinette?!" Nino copied Adriens pose from earlier.   
"Girl, what's going on!" Alya screeched, "I just woke up earlier with like, superpowers, and now you and Adrien are here dressed like that!"  
They all stared at her. 

"I designed these bitch."

"They're good but your dressed like weird superheroes!"

"WE ARE SUPERHEROES NOW HELP US DEFEAT THIS MONSTER!" 

"WHAT."

———————————————————————-

Not long after, Chloé had joined them and then finally Lila. They had both separately followed Adrien and Marinette to get info. Chloe bought the miraculous in a shop and Lila found the bracelet snooping through Marinettes stuff. Needless to say, they were in for a surprise when Chloe's best friend/Lila's worst enemy had been hiding her team of superheroes from them for at least a year. 

Lila's lies were exposed a few days later and only Marinette was there to comfort the girl.

Lila has also been the only one there during her panic attack and that just finished everything. They were officially friends. 

It felt weird but a good weird.

———————————————————————-

"Hey guys!" Mylène skipped into the room. She froze.

"W-where's the decorations?" The poor girl whimpered.

"Marinette usually does them: she's probably running late!" Rose reassured.

There was never any decorations.

Actually, Marinette and her friends never came in that day.

Alix wondered where they went. She wanted to talk to them.

———————————————————————-

"What the fuck are you doing, idiot?" Alix hissed through clenched teeth.

Kim looked down at her.  
"I wanted to apologise to Marinette!"  
He was currently hanging on to the wall outside her window.

"Me too...but we could just knock at the door."

"Kim...? Oh my god! Here!" 

Marinette reached a hand out to Kim, terrified for her friends safety. 

Max joined them eventually, and they were all a bundle of emotions in the end.

———————————————————————-

Eventually, Lila, Marinette, Chloé and Alya became inseparable. They linked arms whenever they walked, and always said Chloés catchphrase together. Everyone knew something was up with Marinette though. 

Their concern only grew when she told them she felt like she was dying.

———————————————————————-

"What do you mean, Master? My other half...?"  
"Plagg. The god of destruction; Ying and Yang." He stayed simply, picking up a newspaper. "But I know where he is, though you'll have to find him yourself."

"What?! But Marinette could die-!" Alya screeched, Lila looking slightly confused to the side. She was still new to all the magic stuff going on.

"Here. These should help, but you need to find him quickly," Master Fu offered, handing her a bottle of weirdly collected pills, "They're completely safe to take." He reassured.

———————————————————————-

They finally figured out where to go after having some very strange dreams. Gotham, the city of crime. Chloe jokes about how ironic it would be if he was a villain when they were hero's. 

Though they wouldn't admit it, they all were a bit on edge after that remark.

———————————————————————-

5 weeks before they left 

"You want us...to delete all files containing you?" Max asked, throughly confused. 

"Yeah, if you can Max." Adrien pleaded. They were desperate at this point. They needed to lay low and get to Gotham.

"Don't get rid of Chloe's though, we don't want to get caught, dude," Nino started sweating. He and Alya had been sobbing hysterically about the idea of leaving. They wouldn't even be allowed to contact them after they left as they know their parents would just come find them. 

Adrien hadn't been all too bothered. He knew about his fathers crazy obsession with his Mother and couldn't wait to get away from it. Marinette had already helped him pack away all the important photos. Lila was similar to Adrien, except she didn't care at all. Turns out Lila's Mother really was a diplomat and had not time for her precious daughter. 

And then there was Marinette. She loved her parents so much, but recently she had discovered something that affected their relationship greatly. She had found a journal: her mother's journal. It said she was adopted. But not only that! They had fake birth certificates and files in case she ever found out! She was disgusted, but she couldn't stop loving them. Turned out her biological parents were in Gotham anyways...

"Hold on, are you guys running away?" Alix asked, surprised.

"N-no of course we're not!

"JUST DELETE THE FILES!"

"They're leaving the country." Kagami stated, leaning on Luka's shoulder for support.

"WAIT WHAT?!?!"

———————————————————————-

4 Weeks before they left

"There's a 74.5% chance you'll get caught running away. Leaving the country changes it to a 80.7% chance." Max stated. The group all looked at each other.  
"You don't have to leave because o-of the class you know?" Alix smiled awkwardly, trying to convince them.   
"Yeah! I'll protect you!" Kim flexed his muscles. Marinette giggles while Chloé and Lila scoffed. She put on a serious face. "We have to go," Marinette, Chloé, Adrien, Nino, Alya and Lila joined hands, "We have each other. 

Alix started sobbing while Kim tried not to while hugging her.   
"You can't leave us! You just can't-!"  
"We can still talk to each other, and we'll try to come visit..." Alya reassured. It took a few minutes until she finally calmed. God, she was going to miss them.  
"Is there a problem going on at home or something?" Kim asked, concern obvious in his voice. Marinette spluttered. "Uh-well...kind of?"

They all just stared before Marinette sighed. Alya felt for the poor girl. She had to lead them when she was the youngest, bubbliest out of them. Even her last name had something to do with luck and happiness.

"I'm adopted, Chloé and Adriens dads are incompetent and Lila's mother cares more about a promotion than her."

"My mom will never get a promotion." Alya snorted at that.

"Hold up. You're adopted? Since when?" Alix whisper-shouted. She still didn't know why they were having this meeting in a freaky forest.  
"Since now, I guess. My real name is Marinette Lícia. I'm from Gotham. I have no idea who any of my blood relatives are."  
"Wow...you look so similar to Tom and Sabine though..." Kim choked out. 

"I've deleted them." Max exclaimed.

Taking a deep breath, Nino replied, "Thanks, dude."  
Alya just smiled out of gratitude, suddenly feeling a little bit happy about leaving. Her friends needed to get out of this toxic environment.

———————————————————————

It continued on like that. Max would create fake ID's, Adrien, Chloé and sometimes Marinette and Lila would hoard resources like food and money. Nino worked on keeping the class at bay while Alya researched Gotham, day and night, looking for apartments or any useful information. 

The group had decided that they would buy a large two story apartment, keeping a secret room for hero stuff.

Somewhere, the black cat was hurting and so was Marinette.

———————————————————————  
3 weeks before they left

Shit. Damian quickly placed his arm over the crack on the table when his brothers walked in.

He didn't know what was happening. Had he been cursed? Was it a villains doing? That was the only conclusion he could come to. 

Recently, anything he touched seemed to just break. Father has said that he was researching it, but so far he didn't find anything. Damian had a feeling Alfred knew what was happening, though. Anytime he broke something with his hand, Alfred always looked strangely scared. Did he think he was dangerous? He planned to ask him. Deciding on ignoring everything and eating for now, Damian picked up his cutlery-

*SNAP!*

Everyone turned to him. He looked down to see the knife and fork snapped in half.

"Uh...Baby bird?" Grayson said staring at the cutlery.   
"Was it just me or did he just break metal?" Tim asked in disbelief.   
"What the fuck?!" Jason Shouted, rushing over to him.  
"Pennyworth, can I talk to you?" Damian asked, ignoring his family's protests. Alfred led him to the kitchen where Damian started questioning him.

"You know something. What is it? Why do I keep breaking stuff? Why do I-!" Alfred cut him off.

"It's the miraculous. That's all I can say, master Damian."

Miraculous?   
What's a Miraculous...?

Whatever it was, he was going to find it.

———————————————————————  
2 weeks before they left

Paris. 

Chloe knew how much the city meant to Marinette. The city of love. She choked.

Love.

That's all her best friend wanted. That any of them wanted.

To be loved.

Buts that not what the gods were. They were ridiculed during their time on Earth. Doing what ever the people asked them and then being laughed at. Bullied as they grew up and killed as they reached 15.

But the reincarnations can't die, can they? Chloe chuckled weakly, staring at her sleeping team.

No. They were to endure that pain. 

Chloe cried out as her neck snapped.

That's why they were chosen. 

Marinette's dismembered body lay in the dirt.

They complete each other. 

Adrien was sliced in half.

Their minds couldn't be broken. 

Alya pulled the sword out from her body.

But that was the problem. 

Nino's body exploded leaving nothing but blood.

They were pushed to the breaking point and then left there feeling utterly hopeless. 

Lila's body merged with the spear.

Brought back after the battles to fight once more.

It wasn't their fault that the Akuma had gotten out onto the streets last month, revealing the heroes to all of Paris. They knew their Master was disappointed, though. Maybe in another world they would have been allowed to of been disappointed in him.

Unsurprisingly, they blamed all the destruction caused by the monsters on the teens. They had to don masks after that, hoping no one had seen their face.

Adrien received a slap from the Master that night. He was okay, maybe used to it at this point. They figured he was upset about Adrien not being the cat. He always was: he didn't like being wrong.

They were more worried about Marinette when they found her cutting her arms alone, ranting about how she failed as a leader. How she failed as a person-no, a god.

The 14-year-old girl in front of Chloé was a god. 

A very powerful one. So was she.

They watched a few movies, shed a few tears and made sure Marinette and Adrien got to sleep fine that night.

Even though it looked like their smiles were fake, they weren't. Though they may of been hurt, damaged, and honestly, absolutely insane, they were somehow ok. This was their life.

Perhaps in another universe, they would have been normal.   
Then again, all their souls literally created the world, didn't they?

Marinette, for love and joy. Adrien, for curiosity and fear. Chloe, for anger and protectiveness. Alya, for fun and admiration. Nino, for trust and acceptance. Lila, for comfort and confidence.

But that was okay. Everything was fine. They had each other. And although they should of needed more, they would get through this as a team.

A team forever.

Literally.

———————————————————————

1 week before they left 

Damian had no idea how he had found himself in this situation. Again.

He had just died.

Again.

What had happened? He couldn't exactly remember.

*Flashback*

"What's up with demon spawn?" Jason raised a brow, finding it amusing to see his brother so worked up.  
"TT. None of your business, Todd." Damian argued, his chest aching.

It continued on like that until Damian had finally had enough and checked his stomach. 

They all stared at him in shock, unaware he was as bewildered as they were. Bruce's eyes widened before he rushed over to him.  
"Damian! What happened?" Dick, Jason and Tim ran over.

He payed no mind to them. 

Instead, he started at the slash going diagonally across his stomach.

"When did you go out for patrol? You know you're not supposed to go on your own!" Tim shouted, worried for his little brother.   
"That's the thing, idiot! I didn't!"  
"Well then how did it get there?" Dick questioned, completely confused.

They all just looked at the wound.

"It can't have just appeared-!" Jason was cut off by Damian hissing in pain.

Another wound had appeared. Around twice the size as the one before. 

Going through from the back of his body to the front. 

Damian let out a few reluctant tears while clenching his teeth.   
His vision started to black, spots appearing around him.

He died in excruciating pain, unaware of the cause.

*Flashback over*

Oh.

Yep. 

That had just happened. 

And here he was: sitting in up in the dining room, completely alive and healed. He just stared at the floor, before finally looking up. Damian made eye contact with Alfred.

Alfred!

He knows what happened to him! Why hadn't he warned him? 

Damian narrowed his eyes at the butler.

"-earth to Damian! Baby bird! Are you alright? Your pulse was gone and-!"   
"I'm fine, Grayson," he grumbled, struggling to stand up, "just leave me alone." 

"You can just leave after that! You just died! Again!" Jason screeched, Tim quickly agreeing with him.

Damian scratched his head. He stumbled out.

What had even happened? Had he just randomly died? Can that even happen..?

He pressed his hand against the scar.

Whatever it was, it had something to do with the 'miraculous' Alfred had mentioned a while ago. 

He was sure of it.

———————————————————————

School was never good for any of them, either. Lila and Adrien had to keep their parents happy, so they all agreed on letting Lila lie for the remainder of their time there. She told them that it was okay and they could expose her, but they weren't all that bothered.

Most of the students that knew Lila was lying had taken to bullying her, so they had Marinette and Lila watch out for each other. 

They both had a seriously rough time at school.

———————————————————————  
2 days before they left

"Marinette!" Alix's shriek could be heard through the entire school, "Did you do this to Lila?" She looked furious.

Of course all the lies were fake, though. Marinette glanced at Lila. The girl shook her head. 

So they had just assumed that she had done it...?

Nice.

"I have no idea what your talking about, Alix." Marinettes voice was monotone.  
"No idea? She walked in here with a massive scar through her eye right after you left the classroom with her!" She was seething, ready to attack. Lila just looked terrified.

Marinette sent a small smile her way, preparing for any physical hits. 

*SLAP!*

Marinette held her cheek, trembling slightly.

It was Nathaniel.  
The boy had tears pooled in his eyes, glaring at her.  
Alix looked shocked that Nathaniel had hit her. Her shock turned Into fury towards the boy.

He Hit her.

Lila was close to tears.

"What has Lila ever done to you?! Your a bully!" He sobbed, throat clearly hurting. Suddenly, Chloe was in front of her.

"If I ever see you near Marinette again, you'll have to deal with me." She threatened. Marientte squeezed her hand.

"Y-your just as bad. A stuck up bully!" Kim walked up to them. He was on their side too. Honestly, not even half the class believed Lila's lies anymore.

The only ones left were Nathaniel, Juleka, Rose, Mylène and Ivan. There were a few others their age, but that was mostly it.

"Oh my god! You've insulted me! What ever shall I do? I'll be mentally and emotionally scared for years!" Chloé reprimanded, faking hurt. The class stared at them dumbly. Marinette giggled slightly and her best friend relaxed at the sound.

The joined arms and walked up to the back of the class, Adrien not far behind.

Madame Bustier didn't have the energy to question the 3 students sitting on the same bench that day.  
No one did.

Alix seriously hated having to pretend to hate her closest friends.

———————————————————————  
1 day before they left

"I'm gonna miss you guys!" Kim sniffed into Adriens shoulder. He pulled away. 

"You ready to go Adrien?" Lila queried.  
Adrien nodded, hugging Alix and Max one last time.

"You won't forget us, right?" Alix prompted. Adrien chuckled, "Alix, we're going to call every night. We'll save Marinette," he held his pinkie out, "I promise!"  
Alix rolled her eyes before sticking her pinkie out as well.

"You have to tell us what's going on after she's healthy Adrien!" Max reminded. The only thing they had told the three was that Marinette was sick, and the only cure was in Gotham. 

The trio had been quick to help them after that.

"I know, I know!" Adrien groaned, turning his head around once again, "I'll see you guys!" He waved sadly. 

They waved back, all of them in tears. Lila opened up a portal close to where they were, feeling a twinge of sadness of her own. The girl had grown to like those three.

The list of things Lila would miss had gotten a lot longer recently.

Adrien was the last person she needed to collect and bring home. Everyone apart from Marinette was coming to stay at her house for the last days. She said she had some things she wanted to do. It was understandable.

Marinette had been a hero the longest, and now she was throwing everything she had risked her life protecting away to find a single boy. And she was still happy. 

She valued her team over her family. 

It sounded horrible, selfish and cruel. But the team was her family. That girl had died without her parents support. Of course, they didn't know, but she had grown up around her friends. So as a result, she saw them as family and Tom and Sabine as friends.   
The poor child was only slightly surprised when she saw the adoption papers.

Lila remembered Marinette sacrificing her life to save her on her first mission, watching as the 14-year-old was shot multiple times. 

It was then Lila promised.

She promised she would do anything to keep her family safe. Leaving Paris was a small price to pay.


	3. Heroes, just for a day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guys, don’t worry,
> 
> Damian is just a friend.

"So you're telling me a 14-year-old girl threatened you, and you ran away?" 

He was terribly confused. All of his boys came back looking traumatised. 

When he asked them they said a little girl had scared them. 

Bruce couldn't believe it. Did this Marinette girl seriously terrify them? 

"TT. You're all imbeciles." Damian remarked.  
"As if you weren't scared too!" Jason teased. Damian went bright red.   
"Shut up Todd." He mumbled. Bruce swept a hand up and under his chin, "So, this girl was acting suspicious. How?" Tim looked at him, making eye contact before looking at his coffee. 

"The first thing she did was lie about her name. She threw a slipper at Jasons face," Jason grumbled at that, "moved there yesterday with no adult and successfully threatened us. Suspicious? Definitely." His rant ended. 

She had lied about her name? That's weird for a girl her age.

"She told us her name was Marie Kantê-Chien. I don't think she made it up there and then." Dick stated while looking over Bruce's shoulder as he typed.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng...  
Marie Kantê-Chien...

Bruce typed both names in. There was only one result for the latter search. Interesting...  
An ID. 

Marie Kantê-Chien. Age 14. Birth: 13th September, 2006. That was all that was there.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Age 14. Birth: 13th September, 2006. Real name: Marinette Lícia.

Real name...

"It says here that she was adopted at age three after her parents died in a fire. Her adoptive parents are Tom and Sabine Cheng." Dick read aloud, the others slowly coming to look at the file too.

"They recently filed her as missing? A runaway perhaps." Damian folded his arms. 

"How'd she even get to Gotham? She lived in Paris!" Jason questioned. "She hasn't bought any plane tickets recently. I have no idea..." Dick coughed. 

She's smart, that's for sure. Getting out of the country with no one noticing...

"So it's settled? We just bring her back tomorrow or somethin..." Tim's words started to slur. Soon, he was snoring lightly. Bruce sighed.

"Make sure your up early, and then we'll go see Marinette and her friends. Goodnight boys." Bruce stood up.

"Night."

"Goodnight Father."

"See you in the morning guys!"

They didn't usually help with missing people. 

He just had this strange feeling that she was important. 

Bruce only hoped that he didn't end up with another kid by the end of the next day.

———————————————————————

Ninos laugher could be heard a mile away.

"Shhhhh! You're gonna wake the neighbours up!" Alya said between giggles. All she got as a response was more laughter.

Last night was a bit of a fright to the teens, so they decided to have a movie night as they always did on bad days.

That was most days.

As always, they were all snuggled together, Adrien, Chloé and Marinette were already asleep on each other's heads by 12PM. Winter was never particularly easy for Peacocks, Bees and Ladybugs. They needed the sleep though.

Lila had gone to make breakfast and get outfits prepared. She had a routine and was determined to stick to it. It was a nice change, Nino thought. 

Him and Alya had just been watching Funny animals since she missed her Fathers zoo. It really did make her happier. They looked over the footage she had gotten of Marinette throwing the slipper at Red Hood. It was hilarious.

The video had 9k views under the name Ava Catherine. Nino placed an arm around his girlfriend, smiling warmly at her.

"Ten minutes to breakfast! We've got multiple options~!" Lila sang from the kitchen.

Adrien and Chloé sprang up in defence mode while Marinette opened her eyes lazily. She winced while lifting herself up. Nino mentally noted that Marinettes wound needs treating again.

Chloe and Adrien immediately relaxed at the smell of breakfast. They both ran to the plates eagerly while the other female was still getting up. 

"You guys have to change first!" Lila scolded while pointing to their rooms, "I got you outfits out! We're going shopping! Yay!" Lila looked like a child on Christmas. Nino watched, Amused as the trio staggered into the bedrooms.

Lila turned her glare to them.

"You too!" She ordered.

Nino whined.

———————————————————————

Marinette, who was now fully awake, skipped over to the table by the window.   
"What's on the menu today?" She asked cheerfully. 

"It's either toast, bacon, eggs and chips, or porridge with strawberries and a glass of orange juice!" Lila sat at the table with 2 different plates, opting Marinette to choose, "But you get a discount for being the first here!" She winked at the small girl, who then let out a bubbly laugh.

In the background, Adrien looked at them sadly.  
"D-discount...? Can I h-have a-!"   
"No."  
"But..."  
"Don't push it, Agreste." 

Adrien pouted before taking a seat next to Marinette.  
He mumbled a small, "Selfish asshole..." before grabbing a bowl of porridge. He ate it in silence, sulking the entire time. Chloe, Nino and Alya ran into the room with multiple large bags, grabbing everyone from their chairs.

"Come on, girls! Let's go!" Alya squealed. 

Marinette raised a brow as Chloe tried to put all her bags into Alya's without her seeing. She rolled her eyes playfully before they ran out of the house.

Adrien and Nino just followed them quietly. 

"I bet you $50 that they get lost in 20 minutes." 

"Dude," Nino choked out in disbelief, "it's obviously 10 minutes."

———————————————————————

In the end, they were both wrong.

The 4 girls ended getting up lost in 5 minutes.  
Chloe and Lila we're currently holding the humungous map, trying to find the mall. 

"How did you even get lost? It's been 5 minutes!" Nino proclaimed. Marinette gave him a sharp look.

"It's been 6 minutes, actually." Alya corrected her boyfriend who just huffed.

They were waiting at the bus stop, hoping   
the driver would take cash. Nino was fed up of being in America already. He could speak English, sure, but he couldn't read it like the other 5. The boy was getting annoyed by them pointing at loads of posters and billboards.

Why couldn't anyone just swoop in and save his poor soul?

"Ugh! My daddy's going to hear about this!" Chloé loudly shouted in French. Lila just looked at her like she had lost it.

"Your 'daddy's' not even in America!" Lila hissed. Even though he didn't like Lila that much, Marinette had convinced him to warm up to her slightly, Nino had to admit she was right.

Chloe scoffed. "So what? I'll just tell him this bus is taking me home or something!" She smirked, claiming victory.

"That's not that bad of an idea..." Lila muttered, praying that Chloé didn't hear. She did.

"Of course it isn't!" Chloé laughed loudly, "I am a genius, aren't I Marinette?" she turned to said girl.

Marinette looked to Adrien for help, who just pretended not to see.

"Er, well...n-no...?" Marinette stuttered, looking away awkwardly. For once, she was on the receiving end of Chloe's death glare. Adrien chuckled at the scene, before getting elbowed by the blonde girl.

"Lila did get more than you in your math test anyway..." Marinette grumbled to which only Alya heard. The duo was left in a fit of giggles.

"Can we just keep walking guys?"

"That's probably the best idea."

———————————————————————

When Nino wished that someone would swoop in and save him, he hadn't mean it literally.

As Batman, Nightwing, Red hood, Red robin and Robin surrounded the 6 teenagers, Marinette was forming a plan to make their escape.

"So, kids, we really need to take you back to your parents." Batman sternly said, preparing to take them somewhere.

"We're afraid we can't let you do that, Monsieur Batman." Marinette said simply, gaining her Coicinelle confidence once more. Red Robin raised a brow at this.

"And why not?" Red robin paused, "If there's some sort of abusive situation, we can get you in a foster care system in Pari-!" 

"NO!" The man was swiftly cut off by Alya. 

Right now, none of them really wanted to go back to Paris.

They had left to get away from the Akumas, away from Guardian Fu, away from everything.

If they took it away now, all their hard work would go down the drain. Nino would not let that happen. Not again.

"We're not going anywhere with you." Lila snarled, forming a protective barrier with Alya and Chloé in front of Marinette. The team took note of this.

"We'll make sure you guys don't get separated," Red hood assured. Chloé deadpanned at them.

"Alya and Nino are dating, so it would be pretty awkward if you didn't separate them." Nightwing choked while Red hood looked away nervously.  
Nino held in a smirk.

"TT. We're taking you guys home, got it?" Robin argued, arms crossed.

"No. We're going to the mall, thanks!" Marinette chimes in. Robin glared at them.

"We can't just let a bunch of kids run around unsupervised." Batman grimaced. He reached out for Marinette cautiously

"Back off, Batsy!" Adrien was now in front of Marinette, shielding her from everyone. She was pouting at him, like she didn't need protection.  
Red robin and Nightwing blinked while Red hood tried not to laugh.

Batman backed away slowly, keeping a sharp eye on the black-haired-girl.

"We're not going to hurt you. We just want to take you back to Paris," he put his hands up. 

Nino was unconvinced. If they caught them, they'd have to face their parents and Master Fu and everyone and their class and-

Marinette screamed.

"WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! LEAVE US ALONE!" She growled, clearly furious. Batman and his team all took a step back, trying to show that they were not a threat. Her eyes started to go a bit green while her vains went black.

'The Lazarus pit...' Jason and Damian thought.

All Marinette saw was red. They were going to take her and her team away. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't. Because if that happened then she'd be in trouble!

Shecouldn'tleythathappenwhywasntanyonehelpinghershecouldntbreathewhycouldntshebreathe-

"Marinette, you need to calm down." She heard Lila's voice beside her. 

Sheoculdntcalmdownshewasntbreathing-

Lila was rubbing circles on her back, "Don't worry, they're not taking us anywhere," Lila looked her in the eyes, "We're still in America. It's just us here. That's it, calm down..." Lila's voice trailed off. Marinette started to breathe again.

Lilawashelpingherthrywerestillinamerica-

The Bat team watched in shock as the girl started having a panic attack. Lila, the brunette, was comforting her like she had done it before.

What had happened in Paris?

Marinettes breathing turned to normal once again and she felt Chloé wrap her arms around her body. She was still trembling as she struggled to get up off the floor.   
Chloe turned to Batman.

"You! This all your fault!" Chloé bellowed, walking up to them. The team could feel Alya, Adrien, Nino and Lila's glares on them. Red hood gulped.

Robin watched as Marientte held her side in pain. Obviously injured. The girl reached into her purse and pulled out a jewel. It was bright green, and flashing every time she held it in front of her. Marinettes brows furrowed, before making eye contact with him. She held the jewel directly in front of his face and he backed away a bit. Marientte smiled when it started to glow even brighter. Robin blushed moderately at that. He coughed, trying to focus.

His family watched the interaction bewildered, while the other teens looked shocked and excited. Marinette spoke up before they could ask questions.

"Ok. We'll come with you guys." Her voice was soft, but held a threat underneath it, "Come on, Chloé!" She linked arms with the blonde who was smirking at him. Did he do something funny?

"Why'd you so suddenly change your mind?" Nightwing blurted out as he went to pick up Alya and Nino, "You were dead set on not coming with us." 

Jason has Chloé and Lila in his arms, "Yeah, did that crystal-thing really change your mind?" He took out his grappler, "What was it doing to Robin?"

"Nothing bad. Oh look Marinette, let's go with Robin!" Chloé teased her friend, knowing what would happen.  
Marinette was too innocent to understand her motives, so she just nodded and smiled.

"Ok!" Robins eyes widened and he looked to his family for help. Only Red robin understood and he burst out laughing.

"Demon Spawns got a-!" He was interrupted by a knife flying past his face.

"TT. No names on the field, idiot." Robin snapped, his cheeks going a little pink. 

"I didn't know your name was Demon Spawn." Lila deadpanned.

He ignored her, and went to pick up Chloé and Marinette. Marientte. He was going to have to pick her up! He put Chloé in his arms and finally Marientte. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she thanked him for the help.   
"No problem..." he mumbled, though he was sure she caught it.  
Finally, they all took off and he made sure to keep checking they were both all right. 

Damian wasn't an idiot. He knew he had a crush on this girl and was struggling to accept it. He had no reason to like her that way! He grumbled as he grappled again.

Robin covered the pairs eyes as they got closer to the Manor.

"What're we doing here?" Jason asked through the coms.

"I have some questions I need to ask." Was all Batman said as they went inside.

Little did they know, the 6 teens had a plan of their own.

Their main goal?

To get that ring on Damian Wayne's finger no matter what.

————————————————————

The room was dark and everything was silent. She couldn't even see her hands in front of her face! Her eyes started to droop. Being careful not to wake up the rest of her friends, Marientte dragged her body off of the couch.

After the incredibly long journey home, they had all fallen asleep in the vigilantes arms. The girl raised her arms up and yawned, struggling to keep her head raised. 

A soft murmur came from beside her, "Hello...?" a hand tapped her side while her sore throat betrayed her and let out a small giggle. Ouch.

Chloe pushed herself off the couch to get a better look at her friend. They were both exhausted. Being A bee or a Bug in winter was excruciating. Constant hibernation: she was lucky she woke up just then.

Chloe looked around, still a little sleepy.   
"We're in a living room I think." Marinette softly said for her friend. The first thing they had to do was take note of their surroundings and the people there. They remember the Wayne boys talking, but they had fallen asleep not long after. Chloe cursed.

"I doubt they'll let us out anytime soon." The blonde grumbled.  
Marinette walked towards the door, "How do we keep getting into these situations?"  
"2 years of friendship and I still don't know." Chloé scoffed, putting a dramatic hand on her forehead, "Do you not like going on these adventures with me, Nette?" She faked hurt, flopping onto the floor. 

They both paused before erupting into small giggles.  
Eventually, all the noise woke their other friends up.  
"Gmornin guys," Lila drowsily greeted them, trying to keep her eyes open. Chloe snorted and Lila sent a glare her way. Alya blinked.

"So...we're in the Wayne Manor...?" The blogger uttered, waiting for a response. Alya squealed, "That's awesome!"

Chloe cleared her throat. Everyone looked at her.   
"There's still one problem." Lila raised a brow.  
"And it is...?"   
"We know who Robin is, but do we actually know who he is?" Chloé explained as if it were obvious.  
"Is that supposed to be some deep level shit or something?" Nino grunted, utterly confused.  
Chloe scoffed, "Like, literally all we know about him is his name is Damian Wayne. Nothing else. Looks, school..." the list went on. Marinette finally understood.  
"So if he starts walking around in a mask, we'll never know what he looks like." Everyone's eyes widened-apart from Chloe's.

"And we'll never know who to give the ring to..." Adrien finished for her.  
"Exactly. So we need to get the ring on him In the time we're here, or get down on our knees and beg him to wear it," Chloé played with her nails, "I would prefer not to do the latter unless necessary."  
5 heads nodded in agreement.

"Maybe we could super-glue it to his finger!" Adrien joked, wanting to lighten the mood. His plan backfired  
"That's not such a bad idea..." Marinette mumbled.  
Adrien spluttered, "W-wait, no! I was o-only-!"  
"Yeah, we could do that." Lila considered the idea, seemingly impressed. His eyes widened.   
"Great idea, Adrien!" Alya grinned widely at him. He gulped. Maybe, he was a bit scared of his friends...

"If you get down on your knees with a ring he might think your proposing to him." Lila snorted. The group burst into laughter.  
"Wait, Wait!" Alya stopped them all, "What if Marinette just gives him the ring while proposing? He seemed to think she was pretty cute!" She breathed out between laughter. Marinette blushed bright red at idea.   
"No way! The only boy I'm marrying is going to have style-," she threw a pillow at Alya, "-he clearly had none! Did you even see what he was wearing?" Marinette screeched at all of them, horrified. This just made them laugh even more.

Meanwhile, down in the Batcave, a certain robin had gone pink while staring at the security feed.

———————————————————————

"Oh, you thought she was cute, did you?" Tim teased him, still gripping on to his coffee.  
"What? Of course not!" Damian snapped, turning away. Ok, maybe a little.   
"So these kids know our identities..." Bruce said sternly. Everyone nodded grimly.  
"What's all this talk about some ring anyway?" Jason asked, quickly changing the subject. Dick walked up to them, holding a bag.  
"I went through their bags, checking for any weapons and stuff, and I found this." He held the pink purse up and took out a small, silver ring. Everyone stared.

"It doesn't look dangerous, maybe we should just let Damian wear it." Jason concluded, twirling it in his fingers. Wear it?  
"Yeah, but why do they want him to wear it anyw-," Tim was cut off by screaming from the security footage.   
"-WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE LOST IT?! HOW?" Marinettes screaming was heard, hurting their ears.  
"I DONT KNOW! YOUR PURSE HAS JUST FUCKING DISAPPEARED!" 

Lila was throwing pillows everywhere, knocking things over, "THOSE WAYNE-IDIOTS TOOK IT! ASSHOLES!" Jason snickered.  
Nino was meditating in the corner, "Please be quiet, I can't even hear myself losing the will to live." He was silently panicking.  
The one with big glasses was just mumbling 'we're gonna die' over and over while Adrien was lying face first on the ground.  
One thing Chloé said caught all of their attention, though.  
"NOW THE ONLY THING WE CAME TO GOTHAM FOR IS LOST! ITS NOT LIKE THEY'LL JUST GIVE IT BACK!" 

The Vigilantes froze. They ran-away...because of that ring on the table in front of them? It was just a piece of jewellery...  
"Hold up. You're telling me these kids, around Damians age, left home because of a ring? Are they in a cult?" Jason theorized.   
Damian furrowed his brows. Had they really essentially thrown away their life for this ring?

"If we don't get this Damian to wear the ring, Master Fu won't be happy with us..." Marinette croaked. It was then they realised she was crying. A lot. She was biting her bottom lip and holding onto her friend Lila's shoulder, staring at her feet. The rest of them looked just as scared after she said that.

Alya, having the heart of a lion, was the first one who confidently stood up. She brushed herself off, "W-well we won't let that happen! We'll force him to wear it if we have to!" She proclaimed, voice full of determination.  
"But they probably think we're here to hurt them..." Marinette was hushed by Chloé, who was squeezing her hand supportively.   
"We have proof, they have to believe us."  
"And if not?"  
"Well then we'll have to kick their asses!" Alya did some fake fighting moves which earned a giggle from Marinette. God, how Damian wanted to hear more of t  
her voice. It had been 3 days and he was already obsessed with her! What was wrong with him? 

"Yeah, because we're just gonna let them beat us up." Jason said sarcastically, smiling at the group on the screen.   
"I don't know, I think they absolutely destroyed you with that slipper." Tim chuckled at the memory. Jason mock-glared. Bruce studied the kids.  
"They did mention how a man named 'master fu' was essentially forcing them to do this. Perhaps we should just let them explain themselves, Young masters." Alfred suggested, his eyes holding a certain glint. 

"You might be right, Alfred," Bruce folded his arms, sitting down. Damian heard a crash and swivelled back around to the screen.  
"-if we don't get the miraculous and make the boy wear it, the worlds pretty much doomed." Damian and Alfreds heads snapped back to the screen while the rest of the family watched them curiously. 

Miraculous...?

*FLASHBACK*

"Alfred, can I talk to you?" Damian asked, ignoring his family's protests. Alfred led him to the kitchen where Damian started questioning him.

"You know something. What is it? Why do I keep breaking stuff? Why do I-!" Alfred cut him off.

"It's the miraculous. That's all I can say, master Damian."

Miraculous?   
What's a Miraculous...?

Whatever it was, he was going to find it.

*FLASHBACK END*

Damians eyes widened, before rushing over to the ring and staring at it intently. He was cautious to touch it, not wanting to break it, and surprisingly, it didn't crack like anything else he touched that month.

He glanced over to Alfred for confirmation. When he received a nod, he picked it up, just looking at it.   
Maybe he could ask them what was happening to him...would that be a good idea.

"Uh, Demon spawn? You okay?" He could barely register Dicks worrying before he scrambled out of his seat with the ring and started to run down to the living room. His family quickly started to follow him.

"You need your mask, idiot!" Tim shouted at him, trying to pass it to him. He grabbed it and quickly put it on, before thundering down the stairs. Dumbfounded, his brothers just stared at him as he rushed into the living room. 

"What's been up with him recently?"

"No clue."

"Me either."

———————————————————————

The miraculous gang proceeded to scream over their situation before they heard a small thud at the door. Marientte looked over to see a boy face first in the floor, groaning. She winced: that probably hurt.

He lifted his head up to reveal a mask.

Robin! 

She visibly brightened at the sight of the boy.  
He quickly realised where he was and rushed to get up. Damian stared at them nervously before pulling something out of his pocket. The miraculous. Oh. Oh! He was trying to give it back!

They all giggled at him, and he looked away awkwardly, grumbling and thinking about walking off. He was trying to be polite, and didn't want to snap at them. It made him look like a clumsy fool in the end. 

"It's okay. That belongs to you now anyways!" Marientte smiled so sweetly at him that he almost melted. Damian was so focused on her face he only just processed what she had said. He choked out a response, "I- wait, what? But I don't even-!" 

Belonged to him? 

Nino patted the space next to him, and Damian narrowed his eyes at the boy, suspicious. He walked cautiously over to the group before sitting down between Nino and Marinette. Blankly staring at them all, he quickly placed the ring in the middle of the friends, not knowing what to do.

Why wasn't he saying anything?! He was making such a fool of himsel-

"My names Marientte Dupain-Cheng, nice to meet you, Damian!" Marinette held her hand out to which he quickly took. They shook. 

"Damian. Damian Wayne, pleasure to meet you too." Damian responded curtly. Good. He had regained his posture. He had returned the ring and now he could leave. Maybe he could just ask them about the curse later. For some unknown, non-girl-related reason, he was a bit nervous. He got up to leave. 

"I'm going to, hey-!" Before he could exit, they pulled him back to the floor. Damian glared at them, "What?" He snapped. Adrien slid the ring on his finger before he could say anything. 

All of a sudden there was a bright green flash coming from the ring. Damian flinched and held his hand away from his face. The pattern on the ring changed and it went from silver to black. The light started to dim down, and soon, a voice was heard from the doorway.

"What just happened?" 

'Batman' the team thought.


	4. Pit of despair

"What just happened?" Bruce's stern voice was heard from the doorway. Nino and Adrien gulped.

"We just saved his life. Be a bit more grateful!" Lila scoffed. Bruce and Damians brothers raised a brow. Marinette pouted at Lila.  
"Be nice! They've done nothing wrong." She helped Damian up, making sure he wasn't hurt.  
"Are you hurt? I'm sorry for tripping you!" Marinette rambled, waving her arms around. Damian looked away. It's not like she was that adorable...

Liar, his brain hissed.

"Damian?" Marinette poked his forehead, before looking more worried, "I think he might have a concussion!" Tims snickers could be heard in the background.  
Damian quickly regained his stance, "TT. I'm fine." he assured her. Marinette sighed in relief.  
"That's good. Sorry for rambling! I didn't mean to hurt you!" She apologised, standing up.  
"It's fine..." he mumbled, trying not to spontaneously combust from holding her hand. He could tell he was bright red from Tim's mocking laughter.

Bruce coughed, and Marinette squeaked in surprise.  
Okay, yeah, he had to admit that that was the cutest fucking thing he had ever seen.

"I'm sorry Mr.Wayne, for any of the trouble we've caused while here." The younger girl worriedly said. Marintte looked down at her feet, playing with her sleeves. It seemed like the great Batman was not going easy on her today.  
"Yes, well, would you like to tell me why my son is struggling to take that ring, which you forced him to wear, off?" Marinette winced, and her team started to glare at the older man. Her eyes started to fill with tears and Damians heart sank. She couldn't answer him.  
"I- I can't." She bit down harder into her trembling lip, drawing blood.

Damian scratched and pulled at the ring in confirmation and irritation. Why wasn't it coming off? He saw Marinettes shaking legs and wanted to help, but Adrien beat him to it. Rushing in front of Marinette, he protested, "Actually, Monsieur Batman, it was me who put the ring on." 

"We heard your conversation over the security footage. What are you planning? Who is Master Fu?" Dicks gaze softened a little, "Do you need help at home?"   
"Some of us do." Chloé, Adrien, Lila and Marinette shared a look, and the Bats instantly felt bad, until their eyes darkened, "But it's not like we plan on going back. It's not like we can." Lila sneered at them, wanting to protect her team. Damian didn't like her. Marinette was always clutching to Lila, and it made him feel something.  
He hated it.

"If you need an adoption system-," Marinette visibly flinched at that, "-we can find you guys one."

Chloe rolled her eyes. Damian hated to agree with her, but the conversation had just gone around in a circle. Honestly, if they were such a problem, why not just keep them there forever? More specifically, Marientte: he wouldn't ever admit he wanted that, though. No one needed to know.

"We can't go back to Paris, idiots! Haven't we made that obvious enough?" Chloé growled at them. Alya and Nino were starting to look a bit uncomfortable,   
and Lila and Adrien were still comforting Marinette.

"Why not?" Jason asked, his suspicion growing. 5 heads turned to look at Marinette, but she shook her head. No one answered him.  
"Well then it seems like we'll just have to keep you here until you answer us." Tim suggested, already fed up.  
"You have no right to do that," Marinette scowled at them, furious, "It's not like we have committed any crimes. This is scandalous!" She stated, taking an aggressive stance.   
"You won't answer our questions, so yes we do," Dick said, his trust lessening. Chloe put a hand on her hip and started tapping her foot, "Actually, in case you haven't noticed, the ring has helped Damian. He's no longer breaking anything he touches." Chloé smirked at them. Jason gestured for Damian to demonstrate, and he grabbed onto the tv control. Not broken.  
Nino beamed proudly, and said, "So, we'll be taking our leave!" 

"But you can't just leave! You have no adult!" Dick rushed to them, wanting to help. Damian choked when Marinette pushed him back 3 meters, with a single finger, and it seemed everyone else did too.  
They all turned for the door, but Alya paused for a bit and then grinned, "Don't worry! We won't tell anyone what we know." She winked, before leaving.

Oh shit.

They had forgot about that.

That caused them to run out of the door, but none of them were there anymore.  
Tim immediately turned to Damian, "So, Demon Spawn? When are you gonna ask that girl out?" Jason and Dick squealed while Damian growled, his cheeks pink.  
"TT. I have no idea what you mean." Bruce cut them all off.  
"Can I see the ring Damian?" Bruce reaches out for Damians hand. 

Hmmmm. Normal material. Regular shape. So why wouldn't it come off? Bruce carefully tried to take the ring off.  
"Maybe they actually superglued it!" Jason joked, cackling at the situation.  
"I wouldn't be that surprised. They came all the way to Gotham to put a ring on Demon spawns finger after all!"   
Tim was laughing silently in the background.  
"Although, maybe this means you might get to marry the girl, baby bird!" Dick grinned at him like an idiot, and Damian groaned.   
After they all calmed down, they got back to the matter at hand.  
"So, what are we gonna do?" Tim queried, ending his laughing fit.

"Let's just keep an eye on them for now: try to gather information about the ring and their hometown. We can start some research here." Bruce clarified, walking back to the Batcave.

————————————————————

When she stepped out into the sunlight from the darkness of the Manor, Chloé only had two things on her mind: her hair appointment, and her escape plan.

Her parents knew she was gifted from the moment she uttered her first words. It was no secret. At first, the power only came with emotion, but eventually, she learned to summon it at will. As a child, she was taught people would take advantage of this, so she kept to herself. Always alone. 

Chloe never thought she was abnormal, until she learned what other people considered a childhood. Unfortunately, Chloe's parents could not agree on what to do with her. Her mother, Audrey, was disgusted. Wanted nothing to do with her. Her father on the other hand, wanted to hide her, most likely embarrassed. That was the night she finally understood why people feared the silence. Chloe was so lonely. 

So, as she ran with her friends, she had never felt more alive. No one could take that from her - she would do anything to make sure they didn't. And if she had to spill a bit of blood in the process? Chloe didn't mind.   
Chloe could see the monsters that hid in the corner of everyone's eyes that they denied having. Even her own. Maybe that was why she got along with her friends in the first place. None of them pushed the darkness away, it barely bothered them.

So when Chloe saw the Wayne's mentally scar her best friend, she was not happy. Not one bit. Did they even care, or were they just enjoying picking her apart? Damian wasn't that bad, though. Of course, he was a bit of an asshole, but that was to be expected for someone who's soul was as dark as his. They could us an ally like him someday.

Chloe turned to look at her friends who were far ahead of her.  
She sprinted after them, determined to make it in time.   
"Wait up guys!" Chloé called to her friends, laughing at how they increased their speed. Brushing shoulders with a few people who then cursed her out, she raced to catch up with them. They stopped outside a salon. All the girls, Alya, Chloé, Marinette and Lila, has agreed to get their hair dyed a crazy colour. 

Alya was going to have hers curled even more and get bright red tips, Lila was getting hers dyed a orchid colour with curls at the end, Chloe was getting hers trimmed to her shoulders and dyed a rose pink, and finally, Marinette was getting it cobalt blue just above her shoulders.

While they were busy freaking out over their new looks, they trusted the boys to 'responsibly' pick out contacts. 

Chloe though it was utterly ridiculous to trust those idiots with anything. Though, they were her idiots, so she guessed it was ok. 

"So, were are we going next, girl?" Alya asked, stepping off the escalator. Lila placed a finger to her lips.  
"Well, we've basically got everything we need to disguise ourselves," Lila stopped at a bench, sitting down, "Marinette got a new pair of glasses, Alya, me and the boys are wearing contacts, while Chloé is wearing glasses too." 

"I don't think they'll ever find us!" Chloé joked, crossing her legs.  
"They are the worlds greatest detectives..." Lila cut Marinette off and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yeah, but they're no match for us in combat."   
Marinette was still a bit unsure, and started to wave her hands around as she rambled on, "Yeah, but still!  
What if they catch us? They'll put us is an asylum or something worse-!" 

"Why would they put us in an Asylum?" Nino and Adrien walked over to the girls, 6 cups of coffee in hand. Marinette jumped. Chloe smirked at the interaction. 

"Shes got a point, I mean, we've all committed crimes, right? Stealing," Alya gestured towards Chloé, who then grinned innocently, "Arson, credit card fraud," she looked pointedly at Lila, "Forgery - hell, even Murder!" fake realisation dawned upon Alya's face, "We're terrible people guys!" Alya screamed, dropping dramatically to the floor.   
Marinette launched up, nearly knocking a very-amused Adrien over.

"DID YOU ONLY JUST FUCKING REALISE THAT?!" 

Chloe sipped her coffee, highly entertained at the one-sided shouting match going on between the two girls - wait, the boys had joined now.

"Imbeciles..." she muttered, secretly smiling. Lila glanced over to her.   
"I think this is the first time we've ever agreed on something, Bourgeois." Chloé hummed in understanding.  
"And the last time." She added, folding her arms. Lila snickered, "Yep."

Each one of the teens had committed at least two different crimes, nearly all of them having Murdered someone. Maybe, if their life was some cartoon for kids, everything would have been easier, but alas, it was not.  
They hadn't worn masks the first time they'd been out, and later they had made a public speech, asking anyone who saw them not to share their identities.

Irritatingly, this led to some very difficult situations. The first one being blackmail.

Adrien, being one of the richest, had been the first to experience it. Cornered in a dark, grimy alley, a large man had held a very clear picture of him in costume, battling an Akuma. 

—————-

"Hand your wallet over, Agreste." 

The large man towered over the cowering boy, grinning maniacally. Adrien spluttered.

"I d-don't have I-it sir..." he patted his empty pockets, and the bulky man growled. Adrien clenched his fists.

"Of course you fucking do," he slapped him, "hand the shit over, kid, and this information stays with me."

His breath reeked of alcohol, and he grabbed Adrien by the collar. Adrien shook about, trying to escape.

Hands trembling, Adrien squinted at the older bloke.  
"Let go of me, asshole. You'll regret it." He threatened him, but the guy just chuckled. 

"Speak to me like that, and you'll end up just like your poor mom." Adriens eyes widened in shock, and he reached for the pocket inside his shirt.

He scrambled for his knife, and as soon as he grabbed it, plunged it into the mans skin.

The man choked, and reached for his neck. 

Adrien had stabbed him. 

He had lost it.

Adrien smiled widely at him, tears poring down his pale face.

He twisted the knife, laughing drly as the man pleaded with him to stop.  
Adrien paused for a second, and the man rejoiced.

"You're going to die-" the man stared shocked at him, begging him to help, "-when you arrive, be sure to tell my mom I said hey." 

Adrien smiled beautifully at him, waving goodbye. 

—————-

Then, Marinette. It had been arson for her. 

Alya and Nino had been surprised to say the least when she had called them, sobbing about how she had just committed a major crime. 

—————-

"I - oh shit, Alya I just- fuck." Marinette's sobbing was heard from the other end of the line.

Alya's eyes widened, and she quickly put in on speaker, dragging Nino over.

"Mari? Mari!" Alya called out, "Marinette? What's the matter? Are you ok?" 

Marinette just continued to cry, "Fire... I started... a fire," she breathed out, and Nino winced in shock.

The rain bit into her skin like needles and she screamed and cried until the taste of blood was all she knew.

But still, she clawed at the dirt with her bare fingernails like that which was buried underneath was all she left - because it was.

"I didn't k-know what to do. I-I shouldn't be here, but please..." she begged them, clutching a body: her nana's burnt, frail body.

"There's so much blood, Alya. So, so much." The young girls voice cracked in the middle.

"Just breathe...you're okay, I promise, just breathe." Alya reassured, not quite breathing herself. 

"I can't breathe, I can't-!" 

"Just- just tell us what happened, 'Kay?" Nino said, as calm as he could.

"Remember, remember i said, w-we - me a-and n-nana - had that show to s-see today?" Nino nodded, trying not to worry her, "Someone a-attacked me, a-and I-I set him on f-fire." She paused.

"I s-set the building on fire." Marinette croaked out, gripping her dress.

—————-

Chloe had been told about that day. Marinette still hadn't given them a full explanation of what happened, but, she had snapped. She showed no proper reaction to anything bad anymore.

Honestly, they were all used to a bit of blood and gore in their life's.

And so after that, Lila and Chloé, unloved by their parents, had resorted to stealing. Taking little things, and giving them to those they deemed worthy.

Alya started to forge files, anything, to keep her parents out of debt. She had been dubbed as 'foxfire' on the internet, and collected her payment in person.

Nino took to vandalism, marking everywhere he went as his turf. His place to protect. If someone stepped out of order? Well, Marinette and Adrien were always there to remind them of their place.

As they didn't have the black cat, Adrien stepped up to help Marinette with the responsibility. An unstoppable duo. Unfortunately, Marinette soon fell sick from being away from her other her half for too long. That caused consequences. 

The black cat would struggle to control anything, and as soon as they found their bug, would be unable to leave their side for days.

—————-

"No, but seriously, is Damian a meta-human or something?"   
Damian groaned.  
"TT. Of course I'm not, Todd." He glared at him.   
"But you kept breaking things you shouldn't have been able to!" Dick added to Jason's questions.

"I feel like we should be more worried by the fact that demon-spawn has a crush..." Tim trailed off. Jason snorted, "I doubt that: he's not capable of love." 

"He was practically drooling at her." Tim smirked at him. Damian went bright red, "I was not!"   
His brothers laughed. Dick looked at him.  
"You can be honest with us, baby-bird." He reassured.

Silence.

"...or not,"

"I am not in love with her!" He protested, waving his arms about in a 'marinette' way. Jason frowned, and raised a brow.  
"We never said you were in love with her." Jason grinned as he caught on.  
"I - oh, shut up, Todd." Damian growled, his cheeks still slightly red. Jason chuckled.  
"Do you actually like her?" Dick asked in disbelief.  
Damian froze for a moment, the action not going unnoticed by his siblings.  
"I think so." He shrugged, unsure. 

Tim smiled mysteriously at him, "Well, we were assigned to spy on her, so I'm sure you'll figure out your feelings soon."  
Yep. He was up to something.  
"...and?" Damian presses further. Tim adjusted his tie carefully, and Damian rolled his eyes.

"Well, she's transferring into your class next week," he paused, before smiling widely, "Every. Single. One."

Damian choked, and tripped over his feet.

"WHAT?!"


	5. There are weirder ways to learn about death

"Is it considered murder if you say sorry after?" 

"Not if you don't get caught!"

"Can we not discuss this over breakfast?" Chloé groaned. Marinette giggled at her friends misery.

"I don't know Chloé. I feel like this is a very important topic!" Adrien placed a dramatic hand over his heart. She growled at the blonde.

"Of course it's fucking murder if you kill someone! God, Cesaire seems to be the only one with a brain here!" 

"But like, if you apologise-!" 

"Just shut up, Rossi. It's murder you dumbass."

"Everyone voice their opinions!" Marinette declared, raising her hand, "I think it's murder unless you get away with it!" She giggled gleefully and everyone cowered in despair. 

"If Marientte says it, it's probably true." Nino snorted. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It's always murder..." Alya murmured, irritated.

How did the the conversation go from discussing yesterday's events to murder, you may ask? Well, it was certainly an interesting story.

Let's recap, shall we?

—————-

12 hours ago: 6:00 PM, Gotham mall.

Nino staggered out of the door, millions of bags in his hands. He shied away from the girls hopeful gazes.

"No. I refuse to go in any more shops with you monsters!" He dropped the bags, before collapsing onto his knees. Lila gasped.

"Don't drop our precious bags!" The 4 girls rushed to pick them up, "I think you're the monster!" Lila shrieked.

"I can't believe we were just kidnapped by batman and the first thing you guys do is shop." Adrien deadpanned at all of them. 

Marientte pouted at him, looking up from her phone, "Like you weren't having the time of your life!" 

"I only went in eleven shops!"

"That's more than I went in." Alya refuted. All she had wanted was a new laptop. They all needed new phones anyways, or they would be unable to keep in contact with the few people that still supported them.

And keep themselves updated on the Paris situation.

Firstly, they needed to stay alert about Akuma attacks, as they had dubbed them. There were quite a lot recently. Their gym teacher had been Akumatized twice a day!

Then, they had to make sure that none of the missing person cases went over seas. Marientte was sure her parents wouldn't give away her location, but the others weren't so sure: Marinette trusted everyone. 

She could get stabbed in the back so easily. Perhaps that was why she had Chloé. And Alya. And Lila.

Kim, Max and Alix had assured the group that they would keep the situation under control at school, but the teens knew it would be impossible. So, they came up with a foolproof plan. Actually, it was so obvious no one would figure it out!

The first thing to be done was to message there old classmates and tell them where they were - not where they actually were - and ask them to run away with them. They figured It would keep the police off their tracks for a while.

"Eleven shops isn't that bad!" Adrien chuckled nervously, wiping sweat beads of his forehead. 

"Listen-!"

"Mhm, keep telling yourself that, Adrikins." Lila smirked at him and Adrien glared.

"Guys-!"

"I told you not to call me that."

"EXCUSE ME?!" Chloé screeched, "THANK YOU!"

"What?" They all chorused.

Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes, twirling her new hair. She pulled out her phone.

"I have a very important announcement - hey! Don't roll your eyes at me, I see you!" She glared. 

"Well?" Nino crosses his arms amusedly.

Chloe laughed, "I have gotten us all places in the Gotham Academy!" She looked at her nails, "There's no need thank me!"

SILENCE.

"...there is need to thank me?"

SILENCE.

"...please?"

LOUDER SILENCE.

"Oh fuck you then."

"Damian goes to Gotham academy!" Marinette blurted out.

Chloe cackled, "See, this is why everyone should listen to me! I'm always right!"   
Marinette smacked her over the head hard.

"NO!" she screamed, "If he goes there then he'll recognise us and haul our asses to jail!" Marinette wailed. Lila blinked.

"Well shit."

—————-  
10 hours ago: 8:00 PM, Girls meeting.

Alya screamed into the pillow.

"So, the only plan we have is to avoid him like the plague?" Lila implored, disappointed.

"Yep."

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think it would be if-" 

"At least a twenty." Chloé sipped her drink. Lila huffed.

"I had an idea."

"Oh no."

"I swear it's a good one!" Lila exclaimed to which Alya and Chloé chuckled.

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"

"And I'm trying to subtly avoid it." Chloé retorted.

"Are we sure I can't punch him in the face?" Marinette asked, sounding too innocent.

"Pretty sure." Lila replied sadly.

"Not even break his nose a little?" Chloé questioned, suddenly slightly into the idea.

"It's sad, I know." Lila whined, flopping next to Alya.

"Why do you even want to punch him?" she raised a brow suggestively, "It's obvious your in loooovveeee with him!" 

Marinette cocked her head confused, "Hm?" she placed a finger to her lip, "Well he did break into our house 2 days ago, so I want to hit him!"

Alya snorted, "If Marinette hits him he might get out in a coma, Robin or not." The girls giggled at her remark.

—————-  
8 hours ago: 10:00 PM, The Batfam.

"So, remind me again why we have to do this?" Red robin groaned, sipping his coffee.

"Remind me again why you brought coffee on a stakeout?" 

"Guys!" Dick scolded, "Just listen to them, remember?" Robin rolled his eyes.

"TT. I have been, unlike you imbeciles. Now shut up." 

Robin turned the hearing device up, gesturing at them to quiet down.

"-and I was all like, oh shit, Batman's here," Marinette's laughter could be heard, "Then Adrien got up in his face and was like what's up Batsy bitch, and then we fucking pulled a sneak move on Robin and skiddadled out of there!" 

Robin blinked while Jason and Tim were wheezing, and Dick was trying to contain his laughter.

"I also pulled that identity move at the end!" The group up burst into laughter, Marinette still giggling about on the floor.

"That is not how I remember today's events..." Robin uttered.  
"Oh - oh my god, I c-can't!" Jason finally said, struggling to stop laughing. Tim snorted and repeated what Nino said, "Pulled a sneak move on Robin and skiddadled out of there!" 

Dick burst into laughter, clutching at his chest.  
Damian hissed, "Shut up, im listening!" He smacked them all round the head. 

"So, what are we gonna do tomorrow at school?" Lila prompted, "Avoid Damian like the plague?"

He didn't know why, but that suggestion made him feel extremely upset. He didn't want to be away from them. 

Especially Marinette. 

How was he supposed to look at her adorable freckles or vibrant eyes or very kissable lips - wait, what?  
He needed to focus, he reminded himself, trying to fight the blush crawling up to his face.

"It's the best idea we have," Marientte looked down, "We might have to change location again." 

Robin felt guilty that he made her look like that. He just wanted to scoop her up and cuddle her and tell her everything would be fine. 

Great, he had made her cry already.

Lovely.

"I have a feeling they won't rat us out." Adrien remarked confidently, Alya quickly agreeing, "Yeah, they don't seem like bad guys!" 

"We did essentially assault Robin. I mean, we forced him to wear something he can never take off!" Marinette argued, wiping her eyes.

"Hold up, is that ring actually stuck on your finger, demon spawn?"

"Everything will be fine, Bug. I promise I'll keep us safe, it's not always your responsibility." Chloé said, even more determined.

"Thanks Queenie."

The boys frowned at the nicknames.

"In all seriousness, now that we've done what we came here to do, the question is..." 

Everyone looked at each other grimly.

"Should we bring Robin- er, I mean Damian, with us, or forget he even exists?" Nino finished for Adrien.

Damians eyes widened. Bring him with them? To where? Why?

Forget he exists? 

Yeah, he would rather go with the first one.

Marinette, being the kindest one, chose the first option.

"It would be mean of us to leave him to survive on his own." She pouted, "His time is coming, we can't leave." 

His time...is coming?

Robin furrowed his brows.

What the fuck was going on?

All his brothers looked at him worriedly.  
"What the hell are they talking about?" Tim leaned closer.  
They were acting like he couldn't survive on his own. 

"The easiest option for us is to leave him!" 

"She's right. We're already struggling enough. We don't even have to see him again for at least another couple decades." Alya looked sympathetically at her. Marientte growled at her.

"A couple of decades?! No way in hell im leaving him on his own!" Marinette slammed her hand down into the table.

Robin went bright red at her standing up for him.

Red robin started recording the conversation-turned-argument to send to Batman.

"Marinette's right!" Chloé stood next to her bestie, frowning at everyone, "I thought you were all better than this!" They looked away, ashamed.

"That poor guy will wake up one day, age 50 and wonder why he still looks like a 15 year old boy!" Marinette's stomped her foot down, "He needs our guidance!"

Robins eyes widened: he wouldn't ever admit it, but he was getting kind of freaked out now. 

Look like a 15 year old boy at age 50? 

Were they talking about...immortality?

"Do you really think he'll believe any of the shit coming out of our mouths, though?"

They all seemed to freeze up at that.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about what could happen to you guys if we helped hi-!" Chloé cut her off.

"Nonsense! Damians a part of our group now, forever. Literally!" Marinette giggled at the joke, and Chloé smiled in victory.

"Come on guys, let's at least tell the guy what's going on."

Everyone contemplated for a moment.

"Ok, we can help the guy." Marinette cheered at Adriens words before he smirked, "Only if you promise to watch SAO 2 with me though!" 

"Ugh, ok..."

————-  
6 hours ago: 12:00 PM, Batcave.

Batman replayed the video again.   
"It seems we've misjudged the situation."

Jason facepalmed, "So, what do we do?"

"Nothing."

The boys eyes widened.

"They said they were to tell Master Damian everything at school tomorrow, did they not?" Alfred appeared out of nowhere and Dick jumped.

"Christ!"

Damian scoffed at his brother.  
Tell him everything. Damian frowned. Why him?

"Yes. So we just wait." Bruce said sternly.

"Aw," Jason whined, "The anticipation is killing me!"

It looked like he'd just have to wait to find out.


	6. Running on spite and fury

Marinette watched as Alya adjusted her tie once again.

"We can do this. It's not like if we fail our lives will be forever changed." 

Marinette deadpanned at her friend.  
"We'll be fine." Alya stared at her incredulously, scoffing.

"If we're going to do this, we need-"

"A plan?" Chloé cut her off, waking into the room, her lip gloss shining.

"No! Codenames! Cool ones!" Alya sighed exasperatedly. Chloe snorted.

"You're worse than Marientte. You need to get your priorities in order, fox." Alya glared at the girl.

"What do you know about priorities?" She huffed.

The girls were dressed in a dark blue checkered skirt which ended right above their knees, long, black socks, a white tucked in shirt white a blue tie, and finally, a light grey sweater. 

Alya had her fox miraculous around her neck, Chloe's hair pin was holding her own messy bun up and Lila had her ankle bracelet over her socks. Finally, Marinette had her earrings, now their default black colour, pinned securely in each ear.

They had gotten little to no sleep, coming up with situations they could find themselves in, and just overall worrying too much.

They should of been ready to go.

If only they'd come up with an actual plan last night.

"A lot more than you do, Césaire."

"Ha! I doubt that!" Lila walked stylishly into the room, flaunting her newly done nails, "You once didn't talk to Sabrina for 2 months after she was akumatized during your makeup appointment!" Chloé pouted.

"Hmph. That's different, Rossi."

Marientte perked up at the mention of makeup.  
"That reminds me! Chloe, can you put some makeup over the scar on my eye? I'd rather not wear the eyepatch today," she looked down glumly.

Cringing, Chloe answered, "I'm sorry, Bug. I ran out of that makeup after yesterday's routine." She patted her shoulder and Marientte walked gloomily out of the door, muttering a small 'thanks anyways'.

"Still can't believe an Akuma did that." Alya said sadly, despairing for Marinette. Lila hummed in agreement.

"I'm surprised she's still not angry about it. They nearly blinded her!" She clenched and unclenched her fists.

"They were both the victim," Chloe corrected them, before adding, "Though more Marientte."  
Alya nodded quickly.

"Yeah. They don't even remember what happens, yet we get the physical reminders!" She growled out, before calming herself down, "...Sorry."

"It's fine: we deserve to be mad once in a while." Chloé folded her arms confidently, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you all." 

"Thanks, Queenie."

————————

Damian strode into the school, looking more relaxed than he felt. He brushed past the other children, paying no mind to them. He had one thing on his mind.

Figure out what the hell was going on with those 6 kids.

Who were they?

Why did they want him?

What did they want him for?

We're they good or bad?

He was hoping it wasn't the latter. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was more than just curious about them and was hoping they could be friends of sorts.

They didn't seem to be annoying like the rest of the students.  
Damian arrived at the office. He tapped his foot up and down, waiting impatiently. The office lady, Ms.Gemah, glanced nervously at him.  
The door opened and Damian whipped around.

"Hey Damian!" Nope, it was just Jon. He sighed.  
"Kent." Jon ran up to him.  
"What are you doing here?" Jon asked confusedly.

"I was going to give the new students a tour around the school." He placed his hands in his pockets, "But they seem to be late."  
Jons eyes widened.  
"That's why I'm here too! Professor Archer asked me to be their guide! Did he ask you too?" He rambled on.   
"Er...yeah, sure." Damian muttered and Jon cheered.   
The door opened again and the two boys turned around hurriedly.

The six froze where they were and Damian couldn't find it in him to speak.

He.  
was.  
screwed.

The girl at the front, Cesaire, sweat dropped.   
"Our plans already ruined. No codenames needed, I guess." She started to back away.  
Damian cleared his throat and tried to stop himself from looking at Marinette.

Her now short hair was brushed neatly, covering her ears. The sweater was slightly too big on her and made her look adorable. Her vibrant eye was wide with her freckles becoming more visible due to the sun shining. Marinette had an eyepatch over her left eye and her hands were tucked behind her back.

Damian looked away once again, praying to the lords he hadn't gone red. He cleared his throat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Us two will be giving you six a full tour of the school today." He gestured for them to come in. He heard one of them groan.

Jon furrowed his brows at the interaction, many questions going through his head.

Chloe walked to the front, "Yes, it's lovely to meet you too, Wayne." She watched as the others cautiously went to Jon, and then whispered in Damians ear.  
"If you know what's best for you, stay out of our way."  
"What do you mean by that, bourgeois?" He glared.  
"It means leave us alone, asshole." Chloé growled at him, before leaving to join the others. Damian was left perplexed. 

Didn't they say they would explain everything?  
Right now, he was even more puzzled than before.  
Suddenly, he had an idea.

"How about we split up? That way it will be quicker." He suggested and saw some of them glare at him, to which he glared back. They didn't back down.

"Great idea Damian!" Jon praised obliviously.

Damian looked around. Which ones were most likely to crack and give him information.  
Firstly, Marinette. He didn't want to take advantage of her, and felt bad for choosing her. Damian wanted her to come with him anyways.

Then probably Lahiffe, and maybe Rossi. He called out for them and they gulped. He smirked. It would be easy to find out what they were hiding.

"Let's start this side," he pointed to the opposite way Jon went. 

"Right..." Lila uttered, venom lacing her voice. She banged shoulders with him Walking out. Nino and Marientte followed. Damian slammed the door and pulled them into an empty classroom.

Trapping the three against the wall, he began his interrogation.  
"Why are you here?" He snapped.   
"To learn." Lila dodged his question. Damian growled.  
"You know that's not what I meant."  
"You already know," Lahiffe furrowed his brows, "To put that ring on your finger."   
"That can't be all you came her for!" Damian crossed his arms, "Well?"

"That's literally why we're in Gotham, dude!" Nino argued.  
"As if!"

———————-

Lila grew impatient as Damian and Nino continued their shouting match. Marinette gripped onto her arm, worried they'd fail.

"If you don't wear that ring, Marinette will die!" Nino exclaimed and then covered his mouth. Marinette tensed.

Damian scowled, "Are you threatening your friend? That's low."

"What? No! If you take that off, Marinette will get sick!" Nino threw his arms up.

Damian stared in disbelief, "What...?"

"We fucking left our family's, our life's, to find you and stop her from dying! We saved your ass, and all you do is shout at us!" Nino pointed a finger at him, "It's not our fault you decided to get yourself killed back when we were normal people!" 

"I don't..."

"Of course you don't understand! You don't even remember life before!" Lila shook with anger as Marientte comforted Nino.

"Life before? What are you on about?" 

"See what I mean?! You don't remember anything! Just leave us the fuck alone!" Lila screeched.

"Are you talking about when I was brought back by the Lazarus pit..?" 

"What?" Marinette shot up, "No, we aren't." She said softly, "You've died before?"

Join the club, Lila thought bitterly.

"I guess. But what else are you talking about?" Damian tried to press on. He was slightly worried for them now.

Marinette gave him a watery smile, walking up to him.  
"It's...it's complicated. I hope we can be friends in our time here." 

Marinette pressed her lips to his forehead, and Damain felt a sense of immense tiredness wash over his body.

"Rest well, Robin,"

The last thing he remembered before blacking out, was her sympathetic gaze as she stepped out of the room. He stumbled onto the floor.

And just like that, black spots over took his vision as Damian fell into a deep slumber.


	7. How to run from the mess you made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian actually has feelings in this, because I hate everyone playing him off as completely heartless.
> 
> Also, being Robin probably puts a lot of pressure on the boy 😔🌸

Adrien whisper-screamed as he stared over the 'dead' body. Damians face stared right back at him. He let out another whisper-scream.

"Jesus Christ! Who have you killed NOW?!"

"He's not dead, you fool." Lila pushed past him, bending down to poke Damians cheek. Chloe snorted as this was probably the only time she would ever see the boy without a scowl on his face.

"Well then what is he?" Adrien crossed his arms, "He doesn't look alive to me." 

"I used Guardian magic to put him to sleep," Marinette cut into their conversation, dragging Alya and Nino from behind her. Alya's eyes widened, before she burst out laughing. She wiped the non-existent tears at her eyes, "Ah, this is priceless. We've kidnapped a Wayne now. We're so going to Arkham." 

"We haven't kidnapped him!" Lila defended herself, "Damian came with us willingly." 

"The feeling of being young..." Alya continued her monologue, doing dramatic actions.

"He would only of come if you had told him Marinette was waiting for him. Wayne boy would've been there in minutes!" Chloe smirked at the sleeping boy, "Also, why are we whispering?"

"Cuz' Marinette only put him under a sleeping spell for a few hours, so he could wake up any moment." 

"Why didn't you just leave him then?" Adrien asked accusingly. Marinette pouted.  
"I thought we agreed we were gonna help him."  
Nino spluttered, "You're the one who chickened out last minute!"

Marinette glared at him before sitting in front of Damian. She place a finger on her lip.  
"Should I wake him up?"

"Nah, we should probably let him be alone for a while. It'll make us seem like less of a threat." Nino stepped closer to her.

"I guess so."  
Lila raised a teasing brow, "Still don't wanna leave him alone, DC?" Marionette shrugged.

"We've been apart for so long it makes me hurt if I stop looking at him." The groups eyes widened.

"Like...actually hurt?" Chloé queried, dreading the answer.

"Pretty much. As long as I'm near him it should get better, though. 2 meters apart really hurts."

"Buginette..." Adrien frowned.

"For godsake Bug, why didn't you tell us?" Chloé leapt over to Marinette, enveloping her in a surprise hug. 

"It's okay. I just have to stay by him for a few days and it should go away!" Marinette smiled brightly at them, and they all melted.

"Girl, how do you stay happy in situations like these?" Alya joined the hug, holding back her tears. God, Marinette was so brave.

"It's a secret," Marinette wrapped her arms around them both, "Come on Lila!"  
Lila rolled her eyes playfully, attempting to hide the fact that she was crying as well. Finally, she gave in.

"Ok, ok!" Lila sobbed and raced over to her family.  
"I'm so mad at everything," she cried into their shoulders, "It the stupid curse! Why couldn't we have stayed in our previous life's, where everything was fine!" her voice came out muffled, but everyone in the room understood her. Even Nino was shedding a few tears. Soon, the six of them were all a crying mess on the floor.

"I feel like," Chloé sniffed, "We should let Damian join in our group hug," she giggled at the end.  
Adrien smiled softly, nodding, "Yeah, hopefully he'll be a part of the next one we have."

"I doubt he'll show any emotion!" Lila remarked, pulling away to breath a bit.

"If Marinette's crying, he's crying too." Alya grinned, eyes puffy, cackling at Marinette's objection.  
"No way! I told you guys! It's not like that." She huffed, cheeks pink, "I cant like him. Not yet. I need to focus on being Coccinelle." 

Chloe raised a brow, "He's focused on being Robin, and yet he still seems to be quite honest about his feelings for you."

"He doesn't have any feelings for me!" Marinette screeched.

"Whatever you say, DC." Lila pushed herself up, "I'm gonna make some food. Should I prepare a plate for David?"

Marinette stared blankly at her, "His names not David."

"Was it Deric?"

"..."

"...Daniel?"

"Uh...Demon Spawn! That was it!" Lila smiled triumphantly.

Chloe ushered her out the door, "Ya know what, just leave please. You're utterly ridiculous." She slammed the door in her face.  
She turned to Marinette.

"His name was Damian, right?" 

Marinette groaned. 

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Are you always such an idiot, or do you just show off when I'm around?" Alya said matter-of-factly.

"Wel- hey!" 

"Look, Chloé," Adrien started towards her, "Jesus might love you, but everyone else definitely thinks your an idiot." Chloé gasped, hurt.

"But Adrikins!" She whined.

"It's the truth, Bee." Nino looked away awkwardly.

"Cesaire?"

Alya yawned, "Hm? Oh. Please, keep talking: I only yawn when I'm super fascinated." 

"Mari-bug...?" Chloé gulped. Marinette was always bluntly honest.

"You're an idiot. I'm an idiot. We're both co-presidents of the idiot club." she stated, looking over at her for a second.

"Fair enough," Chloé mumbled. She sat down next to the black haired girl. Nino, Alya and Adrien left to help Lila.

"Are you going to stay here with him, Bug?" Chloé leant on her shoulder, "He trusts you the most. You've seriously charmed him." Marinette smiled graciously.

"I guess I have. Just like all those years ago. He'll remember soon, I know it." Marinette leaned her head onto Chloe's.

"I hope so." She put her hand on top of Marinette's, "Even if he doesn't remember yet, it seems like he's already taken a liking to you." 

"I know, but I want him to know about all the time we spent together before," her eyes never left Damians sleeping figure, "I don't want him to think I only like him because of the past, even if they are the same person."

Chloe hummed in agreement, and kissed Marinette's forehead, "I'll leave you two for a while." She waved as she went after the others.

Marinette immediately turned to Damian and said quietly, "I know your awake." She giggled softly at him opening one of his eyes, and he looked around in surprise.

"Did you...kidnap me?" To say he was shocked was an understatement. First, they were going to ask him to join them, then they decided against it, and now they had kidnapped him. 

Seriously, what did they want?

Marinette scratched the back of her neck nervously, "Ah, sorry about that. We just wanted to talk, I promise." 

"How did you even..?"

"It's complicated, but I promise your safe here." 

Brushing that aside, he moved onto the next topic.

"I heard your conversation from earlier." He frowned, "Am I keeping you alive?" Marinette looked scared he had caught on, but quickly hid it.

"Not necessarily. We're both keeping each other alive," she looked him in the eyes, "Remember when you died a couple of weeks ago?" She asked softly.

Damians eyes widened, and his body stiffed, "How do you know about that?"  
Marinette saw she needed to slow down with the information. He was probably overwhelmed with everything that had happened.

"Calm down. I only know that because it happened to me too." She said slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You died too? Randomly?" He choked out, relaxing a tad.  
"Kind of."  
"What's with all of the uncertain answers?"  
Marinette laughed lightly, "Well, I was in a fight. We'll talk about that later. I got stabbed here-" she pointed to where his scar was, "-and bled out. I was brought back after the battle. That's kinda how it works in Paris now." Damian stared dumbly at her.

"You were just...brought back? The Lazarus pit perhaps?" He scrambled to find a logical answer, "Wait, why did I die when you did? I have a lot of questions."

Marinette smiled widely, "I can see that. For now, why don't you come have breakfast with us?"  
She held her hand out to him.

——————-

Damian stood quietly next to Marinette, analysing the situation. Had they kidnapped him to eat breakfast?

Why did he even agree?

Damian watched as Marinette waited for her friend. Lila, was it? She couldn't even remember his name. How annoying.

"Lila?" Damian looked up at the interaction. The two girls were talking quietly with each other.  
"You've got a plate for Damian, right?" 

"Sure have!"

"That's good!" Marinette turned around to face him, "Come on!"  
She grabbed ahold of his hand and yanked him towards the door.

"Slow down!" He jogged to keep up with her. He saw her place her hands on the door and push it open to reveal the rest of her friends eating together.  
Alya grinned as soon as he saw them both.  
"Sleeping beauty finally woke up, eh?" Damian glared at the reporter. Alya just chuckled at him.

"TT. I was awake the whole time, thanks." 

She looked surprised but quickly got over it, "So, have you still got more questions?"

Damian thought over that. He definitely had.

What was this past life they kept taking about?  
Why did Marinette react like she had the Lazarus pit in her?  
What was this curse they were on about?  
Immortality?  
Marinette's sickness?  
Why they were even here?

"He has a lot more." Marinette answered for him, walking over to the table. She stopped and looked at him.  
"Don't you want to sit down?" She gestured to the seat next to where she was standing. He wordlessly sat down next to the girl, who just smiled understandably. He watched cautiously as they all dug into their breakfast. 

"So, are we going to let Damian interrogate us, or continue our conversation about murder that we had yesterday?" 

Hold up, murder? 

Why the fuck were they talking about murder?  
Before he knew what he was doing he blurted out, "Why the fuck were you talking about murder?"  
There was silence and Damian gulped, until they all burst out into giggles.  
"I'm serious!" They ignored him.

Alya put down her knife and fork, looking up to him, "So aren't you gonna ask us any questions, or do you want to stay in the dark?" She raised a brow and Damian glowered at her.

"As many questions as I want?" Adrien nodded.  
"Ok." Damian thought for a moment. Start with the least confusing.

"Why did Marinette react like she been in the Lazarus pit two days ago?" Chloé grinned, nudging Lila's elbow. Lila groaned, getting up to put her plate away.

"I told you he'd notice," she turned to him, "You pay very close attention, don't you? It's because we have all been thrown in that pit by accident: in one of the forests in Paris, there are different patches of it around there." 

"Random patches? That's dangerous." Chloé hummed in thought.

"So, next question?" Alya tapped the ground with her foot. 

"You keep talking about a curse. What is it?" Damian approached the subject with caution.  
Nino looked in thought, "Well, we can't really explain it. It's not exactly a curse, but the first step of getting it to leave was to find you." 

Damians eyes widened, "Me? Why?"  
"Because you're Marinette's other half. Y'know, creation and destruction?" He said simply, ignoring Damians mix of emotions.

"Other...half?"

"Basically, you two are soulmates." Adrien said, probably comparing the situation to an anime of sorts.

Damian gaped, "Soulmates?!" he tried not to blush at the thought of being Marinette's soulmate. He failed. Alya chuckled, "Yeah lover boy. You two are destined lovers!" She did fancy hand gestures. Damian went red. Marinette who had been strangely quiet, glared icily at Alya.

"Alya!" She warned, clutching her knife a bit too tightly. Alya just snorted and claimed she was being honest.

"Right, er," he scolded himself for stuttering, "So I admit I...overheard your argument last night. What was all that stuff about immortality?" Damian knew he had a hit a rough spot when they all froze, and looked at him seriously for the first time.

"You heard that?" Marinette asked, an unknown expression on her face.

He scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah, sorry." His eyes darted around nervously.

Nino felt for the boy, and he didn't know what he was thinking when he spat out, "Your immortal! We all are!" He cried, before slapping a hand over his mouth, wide-eyed.

Damian froze. What? We're they serious?

Immortal? Him? Not possible.

Marinette slowly placed a hand over his, "I know it's confusing," she said softly, and his breathing slowed down slightly, "We were all confused when we found out: Lila punched me in the face. Scared and Angry. You don't have to believe us, but we will only ever tell the truth." 

Damian ran his hands through his hair awkwardly, "I don't even..."  
Adrien smiled at him, "You seem pretty nervous, so why don't we just go onto the next question, yeah?"

No. 

That's what Damian wanted to say.

They had just told him he was fucking immortal. Not that he believed them anyways, but they seemed a bit too confident about it.

"Yeah, ok." No! What was he saying! Idiot!  
"Um, Marinette mentioned something about being Coccinelle, and I wanted to ask about these past life's you keep talking about," Marinette looked at him nervously, and the rest all looked to her expectedly.

"That's something only Marinette can tell you. We have dropped enough information on you already. She'll tell you everything when shes ready."

Marinette played with her sleeves desperately, sweat rolling down her forehead. Damian watched her, as nervous as she. 

"Cocinelle is my hero identity. We're all a vigilante team from Paris. I'm the team leader, but you're supposed to work alongside me." She spoke, he voice barely above whisper, never taking her eyes off the table, “You used to work along side me...”

Damians brows raised. Of course he couldn't fall in love with a normal person. Of course not. Of course she was a hero, and had some sort of weird superpower.

Of course.

Damians brows frowned, “What do you mean I used to work alongside you?” Marinette flinched and he mentally scolded himself.

“Past life’s.” Marinette was playing with her food, and looked close to passing out.  
Chloe quickly ended the conversation, “I think that’s enough questions for today. So, let’s all eat breakfast and celebrate this joyous occasion!” Lila rolled her eyes at her dramatic speech as she sat down.  
“Hold on, did you guys skip your first day of school to kidnap me?” 

Silence.

“Actually, I don’t even want to know.” Damian concluded, finally eating his food. Nino snorted.  
“So, why are we celebrating kidnapping again?” Alya said between bites.  
“Because the food tastes good and we have no souls.” Marinette sipped her orange juice.  
“Good enough reason for me.” Adrien placed his cutlery down.

“So, let me get this straight,” Damian leaned back in his chair, “You guys left Paris to find me and make me wear this ring because of a curse, you’re all vigilantes, I’m Marinette’s soulmate,” his face warmed up, but he didn’t notice Marinette’s pink cheeks, “And we’re all immortal. How am I supposed to believe that shit? No offence.” He raised his hands in peace. Chloe raised a brow.

“We never said you had to. But choosing to ingore it will have consequences.” Lila warned, suddenly becoming serious. They all nodded. Damian raised a brow. The gods? He gulped. He would never admit it, but he was honestly scared of everyone in the room.

Not that he believed them, but they were still chilling.

“He’s right. The gods will punish you.” Chloé added. Marinette groaned.  
“Please stop making it sound weird.” She slammed her head onto the table.  
“Never.” Alya smirked. She dropped her spoon into the bowl, careful not to let I’d completely sink in, “So, what’s next? We’ve got Wayne to hear us out, so what now?” 

“I...I don’t know, really.” Marinette said softly, “Damian?” He stuttered as his name was called out by her, “Me? What do you mean?” 

“What do you think we should do?”

“About what?” He retorted.

“I mean, we’ve done what we needed to do...” she trailed off. Damians eyes widened, and before he knew what he was doing he blurted out, “Why not just stay here, in Gotham? It’s not like anything bad’s happened here.” He snapped his mouth shut.

Idiot.

Nino deadpanned, “Yeah. We haven’t got Batman looking for us, and it’s not like we just kidnapped his son.” 

“I could convince him to help you.” Oh my god, what the fuck was coming out of his mouth? Shut up!  
Nino looked doubtful, “You could convince him we’re not a threat?”

“Of course: I’ll say we had a chat after school, and you asked me not to disclose any of the information,” Damian rambled on, “And I can just say I deemed you as trustworthy.”  
The group contemplated.  
“Well then Damian, let’s make a deal.” Damian frowned, “If we help you understand what you are, you have to promise to help me and Marinette.”

He paused. 

“Help you with what?” 

“Guardian duties. You’re supposed to work alongside Marinette instead of me, but since you’re weren’t in Paris, I took your role. So you help Marinette lead the team.” 

Contemplating, Damian pushed further, “You seem to be benefiting more from this than I.” 

Chloe smirked, “Wouldn’t Batman be happy to find out you helped stop a villains reign of terror? He would be so proud.”  
Marinette smacked her arm. “You would also get to hang out with us. Act normal: How you want to. You can discuss what you want with us, do what you want and be what you want.” 

Damian wasn’t usually one for sappy speeches. Whenever Jon, or one of his brothers, made one he would usually just scoff and roll his eyes. 

People tended to believe he was cold. Empty. Even his own family thought he was a tad heartless.  
He did experience sadness, fear, love and joy, but no one seemed to notice when he did.

He may not have shown it, but he still felt what he felt.

Damian wasn’t going to deny his feeling towards Marinette, nor was he going to deny that some things they said sent chills up his spine. 

He just chose to keep them to himself, as his brothers relentless teasing or prying really did anger him. He was a human being - well, he wasn’t even sure of that anymore - and knew that he felt emotions. As he though back to his brothers joking about him being devoid of them, he realised something.

Maybe he was better off with these kids. 

They’d seemed to know when to back off and when they could open up to each other.

Unlike his family.

Of course, he loved them. That much he knew. He just needed a break.

Away from the rules. 

The constant pressure.

Everything he seemed to do wrong.

His cold demeanour.

Surprisingly, away from Robin too.

Because really, the hero wasn’t him. Not yet.

He needed away from the constant worry that he would mess up. 

That he would revert back to the boy who killed people...

...So what if he did?

“Do we have a deal?”

Damian looked into everyone’s eyes. A bond they had together. A special one.

One that Damian could really be a part of. They wanted him to be a part of.

And from what they had said, one that he was a part of.

He thought he could be good enough. He thought if he tried really hard, one day, he could do it.

And he was.

But he thought he had wanted to. When push came to shove and he was given a choice to reflect and move on, he knew he didn’t want to anymore. 

He wanted a family, and he got one.  
He just had to only think the same thing as them. 

And yet, here these kids were, arguing about whether or not murder counted. None of them hating the other because one had killed and the other hadn’t.

He stared down at Adriens outstretched hand.

“I’d rather call it a friendship. My names Damian. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Adriens eyes widened, before he smiled.  
“Adrien. Just Adrien. It’s great to meet you too, Damian.”

And as the group grinned back at him, he couldn’t help the genuine smile that appeared on his face. They shook hands firmly.

He knew he might’ve just screwed up everything.

But for now, he was actually happy.

And that was enough for him.


	8. Successfully evading responsibility

Damian stared wide-eyed at the 'mess' they had made. Ten minutes ago, the group had sent him off with a pair of ridiculous - Maybe kind of adorable - pyjamas, and a pair of extremely fluffy socks (they had claimed it wasn't right if he wasn't wearing fluffy socks). He was wearing a grey shirt with red and blue stripes through the middle of it, some navy checkered bottoms, and his hair was terribly messy. Quite frankly, he didn't get it, but he wouldn't deny that he was comfortable.

Damian extremely regretted leaving them alone as he devastatingly looked around the living room. He had only been gone a few minutes! How did they create this war field?

Millions of Pillows were scattered over the floor, along with blankets and mattresses. There were bowls of food placed everywhere, and the controls were buried under all of it. Teddy bears were tucked into the beds like people, and the lights were off, the only light being from the television. Damian stared at it, horrified. 

Nino walked up to him worriedly, gaining his attention, "Is something wrong, dude? You've been staring at this place like it's Satan." Lahif- Nino, had on a plain, lime green onesie with a hoodie at the back, and was wearing even fluffier socks than him. Ninos eyes widened, and Damian frowned as he gazed at him, terrified, "Dude...Don't tell me you've never had a family movie night?"   
Damian paused uncertainly, before shaking his head slowly.  
"Dude," Nino put his hands on his shoulders, and the emerald-eyed-boy gulped, "What...what about Disney?"  
He furrowed his brows, searching his brain for an answer, "What's a Disney?" 

Nino inhaled sharply, "Its worse than we thought," he turned Damian round to face the others in the kitchen, "Code 7!"   
They froze, and Damian looked around nervously. Shit. Had he already done something wrong? Was Disney some sort of religious thing he was supposed to know about? 

He opened his mouth to protest weakly, but Alya spoke before he could, waving her hands in a style that was not her, "A code 7? His level of neglect is a 10!" She shrieked. Damian stopped everything. What? Level of...neglect?  
Nino shook his head, actual tears falling down his face, "He asked me what a Disney was!"   
Several gasps were heard, as well as a glass shatter, and a small, 'no way!' from Lila.

Marinette grabbed ahold of his arm and dragged him back into the living room, the others following quickly. She locked the door, before stuffing him under the covers with a bowl of food, ignoring his protests.  
"You better buckle the fuck up and prepare for a long-ass movie marathon with cuddles you ignorant little shit-"  
"No bad words Bug!" Adrien stomped forward to cover her mouth, but ended up getting hit in the face by her arm flailing.  
"We're gonna watch tangled, big hero six, even Snow White, everything you could fucking dream of, and then we'll buy you whatever Disney Princess cosplay you desire! Buckle up motherfuckers, we're in for a long night!" 

————-

"What do you mean Demon spawns missing?!" He shrieked, clutching the tracking device closely, "And that he went willingly with them!" Tim stood up.

Dick shook his head sadly, "If you don't believe me, message him." 

Tim snatched his phone, "I will!" He typed a quick are you ok.

Demon spawn  
What do you want Drake?

Drake  
Where the fuck are you?! 

Demon spawn  
With my friends?

Drake  
You're friends?! Why did you let them kidnap you?!  
Don't worry, we're coming to get you brat!

Demon spawn  
We're only watching Disney movies???  
You know what, bye 

Tim screamed before falling to the ground. Jason panicked, "What? Is he hurt?!" He yelled furiously. He shook his head and replied, "Its worse, even worse..."  
Jason raised a brow, "Is he dead?" 

"No." Tim looked him in the eye, "They've used some sort of magic to hypnotise him. It's dreadful..." Jason snorted, and picked up the phone, "You really need to get more sleep replacem- OH MY GOD!!" He let out this most girlish scream possible and jumped onto Bruce, "REPLACEMENT WASN'T LYING THE FUCK?!"  
Bruce pushed him off him calmly, and looked through the phone.

"Would it be wrong for me to believe you?"   
Next to him, Dick shook his head.  
"They've obviously bribed him."  
Bruce swept a hand under his chin, ignoring his words, "Tell him he needs to come home for patrol. Damian never misses them." Jason nodded quickly, extremely quiet.

Drake  
Demon spawn  
This is Jason, we need you home for patrol immediately!

Demon spawn  
Nah no thanks  
Rapunzel boutta drown and I really want to see this  
Like she clearly thinks she's better than me  
oh shit   
this bitch does have magical hair

Drake  
We really need your help!  
We might die!  
Demon spawn?? Please

Demon spawn   
oh my god she's a fucking magical girl   
Todd  
have you seen this

"Demons spawns been corrupted..." Jason fell to his knees, clutching the phone. Tim shakily walked over to him. Dick looked just as nervous, "What did he say, Jay bird?"

"He's...he's watching tangled...he called Rapunzel a magical girl," Jason sobbed and Tim gasped while Dick gaped. Bruce stared grimly.  
"It seems we'll have to send you in Dick." He handed him the phone and Dick nodded determinedly. He clicked call. 

Ring, ring, ring...

"Hell- wait. LILA STOP THROWING POPCORN AT ME! Sorry, who's this? Oh. It's you, Grayson."

"Uh...hey, Damian. So...what you up to..?" Dick gulped, pressing speaker phone. The family moved in closer.

"The fuck- STOP THROWING POPCORN AT ME!! BITCH, NO."

"You called Rapunzel a fake!" Someone, Lila, snarled. 

"One moment," Damian pulled away from the phone, "SHE IS! SHE CLEARLY THINKS HER HAIRS BETTER THAN MINE BUT ILL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I GEL MINE EVERY FUCKING DAY!" Damian screeched, throwing the bowl at her head.

"I can't STAND TO BE IN THE SAME ROOM AS YOU ANYMORE DAMIAN. WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO BIG HERO SIX?!" Lila threw a chair at his head. He just dodged it.

*CRASH*

"GUYS, CAN'T WE JUST AGREE THAT MERIDA IS THE BEST GIRL!" Marinette came closer to the phone while speaking.

"MARINETTE, IN THE FEW DAYS THAT IVE KNOWN YOU I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT YOU'RE VERY SMART, BUT THAT STATEMENT ITSELF IS THE MOST IDIOTIC THING IVER EVER HEARD!" Damian held his ground, accidentally accepting the FaceTime request from his brother. 

It showed two girls, Chloe and Marinette, clutching the Merida movie away from the rest, Damian holding a knife to a very damaged Rapunzel cd case while balancing a Mulan case on his head, Lila growling at him, ready to attack, Adrien holding onto 3 frozen discs in the corner, And Alya and Nino having a staring contest: the little mermaid vs Moana. A few smashed bowls, pillows everywhere along with food, 2 TVs, one smashed, and a clear war going on. 

Damian had on 2 mulan shirts overlaying each other, while Marinette had a plastic bow and arrow on her back and a Merida wig. Lila was wearing a long, blonde wig and had a purple dress on. Chloe, on the other hand, had a full Merida outfit on, and a bear cub teddy strapped in a baby carrier. Sunshine model-boy had an Elsa cloak with his hair sprayed ginger. Alya and Nino, the couple, had full on dressed up as their princesses and were glaring at each other from across the room.

Everyone did a double take when they saw Damian dressed up with Disney merch on.  
"I must be hallucinating...I've gone nuts!" Tim snorted, drinking more coffee to get it to disappear, "I think I'm having a nightmare."  
Jason mumbled, "Me too, replacement. Me too."

"Damian! Are you ok?" Dick mother henned. Damians head snapped towards the camera, along with the others.  
Chloe scoffed, "Who the hell is that?" Damian picked up his phone to reveal it was on FaceTime. 

He sent them a silent middle finger and pressed end call.

————

Sorry it's short!!


	9. A not-so-grand entrance

"What do you mean we should stop looking?" she slammed her hand down onto the table, "Tom!" Sabine stormed over to her husband, visibly seething, tears threatening to spill out.

He sighed, washing the last plate off, "She doesn't want to be found, honey." Tom tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but she backed away from it. Sabine growled, "It's not her choice! She's a child."  
"No she's not!" Tom stilled at his own words, "Marinette's trusted us with information we shouldn't even have: now we need to trust her!" 

She shook from Toms words, "I just want my baby back," Sabine glared. The woman headed for the stairs.  
"I need some time alone." With this, she went into their bedroom. Tom ran his hand through his hair, waking over to the dining table.

Sabine was just worried, he knew that. They'd had almost a week to process the mysterious note, and both had come to extremely different conclusions. She, the brave woman she was, wanted to go after Marinette and be fully involved in what she was doing. Tom, on the other hand, wanted Marinette to make her own choices, and he had a feeling she had made the right one. 

While Tom didn't know much about the situation she was in, it seemed as if his daughter had the weight of the world on her shoulders. The father wondered for a moment if she really did. 

Her birthday was tommorow, he suddenly remembered. Only then did it sink in that he wouldn't be spending it with his baby girl.

Not even with Sabine. They had been getting into argument after argument as things crumbled to pieces around them. Marinette truly was the only thing that kept the family together. Toms lip quivered at the thought as he sat down.

He hoped there was a chance she would come home, and things would go back to being warm and cosy. At the moment, everything was just dark and gloomy. Exactly like...Gotham. Maybe Marinette's presence really was what made Paris happy.

It sure felt like it.

—————

There were certain instances in which Adrien hated his job: vigilantism, or whatever people called it. Right now was an excellent example.

The reason why Adrien had kept his mouth shut was due to Marinette's orders. She had claimed that they should be honest to Damian, but not too honest. Earn his trust rightfully. So, they left a few, just a few, bits out - including the fact that he was technically over 5000 years old - as it 'didn't seem important'. 

Maybe Marinette was just nervous, Nino suggested a while back. Alya guessed that she was scared of rejection. Lila encouraged her to pursue Damian when she found of his whereabouts. But Adrien knew the truth. Being her temporary partner, he knew what she was feeling. He was one of the first to fully remember everything from the previous 4 life's they had lived. 

The people who they used to be, who the people around them used to be.  
Have you ever looked at someone, and have they reminded you of something you can't quite place your finger on?

Maybe you lived a past life with them.

Maybe you were the hero, and they were the treacherous villain your were fighting against.

Maybe they were a previous lover, and you were destined to be together.

Maybe a best friend, or a parent. 

Marinette just wanted Damian to remember what they used to have, and then focus on what they could have.

She refused to show any interest until Damian remembered. Until he was who he was before: not that she didn't like him now. She was holding onto the past, Adrien had warned her. It would all come crashing down, even if in the end, her and Damian ended up together. Something would always disappear.

He couldn't blame her though. They were immortal gods trapped in the bodies of children forever. Trapped in the minds of children for eternity. It wasn't her fault if she wanted to worry about something that wasn't some super-magical crap for once in her never ending life. Like her relationship status.

Adrien wished he could do that too. Although, contrary to popular belief, he actually didn't have much to properly stress about. And it was weird. 100's of years ago he lived a life on the run, or was struggling with something major, like someone trying to kill him for example.

So as he watched the Akuma alert they had programmed into their phones go off at the table, and as Marinette made her decision in the midst of panic, Adrien himself wondered if maybe, just maybe, there was something he was holding onto too. 

"What's that dreadful noise?" Making as little sound as possible, Damian walked in from the kitchen, along with Alya and Nino. He arched his brow at the phone. "Is that an alarm?" 

Seeing as Marinette was too caught up in her thoughts, Adrien replied as casually as possible, "Yeah, we just have some, y'know," he blew hair out of his face cooly, "Akumas in Paris to take care of." He smiled his model smile at Damian, but it just left him even more suspicious. 

"No, I do not know? And at 11:00 at night?" Folding his arms, Damian practically demanded answers. 

Lila groaned, "Nice going Agreste." He fake-glared at her.   
"I figured all the superhero vs villain shit would be all over the news by now." Chloé pressed stop on the alarm, "Do I have to come this time?" She whined.

"If you stay at home, you have to explain this mess to Damian while we're gone. You too, Nino." Alya scolded her boyfriend as he tried to sneak off. Everyone ignored Marinette's protesting in the background, except for Damian, who was just confused.

"You guys don't seem too enthusiastic about your job," Damian drawled, reaching for another cup of coffee, "I mean, you don't have to fight the villains. Also, can I come? I'm sort of curious about this supervillain..."

Nino snorted, "Supervillain my ass. The guy, or girl, doesn't even know he's the one doing it," he shrugged, taking a chair next to him.

Marinette finally snapped out of it, and quickly argued against Damian, "No! You can't come, Damian." Her voice got softer towards the end.

"Why not?" Damian questioned, refusing to back down, "I just want to watch. Not get involved!"

It soon turned into a full argument. Marinette desperately stood her ground, "It's dangerous for you-!"

"And for you too!" Damian glared, "From what I've gathered, we're all supposed to be equals." 

All of them winced at the light jab. Marinette the most.   
"Damian, it's not that we- I, don't think of you as an equal. I just...your lucky to never of had to of known about this until now." Marinette gradually edged closer to him, "Do you know how many times we've all seen each other die? I don't want that to happen to you." She said quietly, finally standing in front of him. 

The 'I love you, I couldn't bare to see you die,' part was left unsaid. Probably for the best, Adrien thought.

He sighed, "I can look after myself, but, can I at least find a safe place to observe? If I'm going to help you, i need to at least know what we're dealing with," he walked closer to the group, "I won't interfere. Promise."

Marinette gulped. Adrien looked pleadingly to her, and she started to sweat from all the doll eyes she was getting. At last, she broke. "Fine! Just stay hidden!" She huffed, "Lila, start it up."

Damian, as curious as ever, proceeded to ask more questions, "Where are you suits? And- wait, how the fuck are you going to get to Paris?!"

"Magic." Lila smirked, and held her hand out, "Kaalki, Transform me!" Damian was bewildered as she uttered those words, but soon, he stared in shock as she was slowly engulfed in light.

"Woah," he murmured, "You weren't lying..." he said to no one in particular, though they all heard him and tried not to laugh. Alya let out a small chuckle.

Lila's body glowed a mystical neon blue, hurting his eyes slightly, and he watched as she began to be encased in a new outfit. Her hands ran through her wavy hair as it was changed into a loose ponytail, and with two fingers in front of her eyes, a mask was soon covering her face. It was grey at the top, white at the bottom.

She spread her arms out and they were overcome with baggy blue sleeves with white cuffs, the transformation soon descending down to her jacket, which was changed for a top that was half grey, half white, with a blue spot in the middle. Lila soon had on thick shorts, and Damian grinned as a cape dramatically shot out from her back.

Damian faced them all, "That was fucking awesome!" He said, excited like a child on Christmas. He laughed as Lila flaunted her new style, "Can...can you do it again?"

Caught up in the moment, Marinette blurted out, "We could make it so you have one, too!" She slapped a hand over her mouth as Damian perked up, "Uh, I mean," she cleared her throat, "Let's go, everyone!" 

They all smirked knowingly at the two. Damian watched in awe as they all uttered their transformation words. Lastly, Marinette.

"Tikki, Transform me!"

Flicking her earrings, she beamed as a bright red and golden light surrounded her. Damian noticed how at peace she looked, and didn't even try to hold back his warm smile. The gold swirled around her as she changed slowly into her alter-ego. 

A mask formed around her eyes as she leaned up into the light. Jumping into the air, Marinette's shoes changed into a pair of shining trainers, and Marinette floated back down as the light faded away.

Damian couldn't help it as he let out the most childish giggle ever. The rest looked on in shock, before joining him in his fit of giggles. "I...I don't think I've ever been that happy!" He breathed out, clutching his stomach. 

"Me neither..." Marinette whispered, smiling at his joyful expression, "All right, let's head out!" With a new found confidence, Marinette, for the second time that week, nodded to Lila to open up a vortex.

Were they ready to go back to Paris?

No. Troubles would surely be waiting for them there, but they were going to face them.

*FLASH!*

With their new partner. 

Gripping Damians hand, while ignoring his blush to the best of her ability, she pulled him into the portal beside her.

Their vision swirled, and the apartment was soon replaced with that all too familiar forest.

They turned and saw the bright lights that made each of their hearts warm, and the playful music that carried in the night sky-

"I AM THE SEEKER, AND IM GOING TO FIND AND KEEP ALL THE MISSING CHILDREN OF PARIS!" 

...maybe they should focus.

"So much for a peaceful day!" Adrien joked, elbowing Nino as he glared.

Chloe groaned, "Come on," she pointed to a tree, "Damian, you go up there."

He reluctantly nodded, and scrambled up it until he found a safe place. 

"You want to be able to see a large lake!" Alya called out to him.

Damian sent a thumbs up, "Yeah, I can see it!"

"Good! We'll head off!"


	10. Pain, suffering and suspicious disappearances

Alya let out a small cry as she slammed into the Akuma. Smashing down onto the floor, she wrestled momentarily with the villain: she had to keep her busy. A distraction.

In the background, Nino and Adrien whispered wildly to each other.  
"We need to get the Akuma facing the tree," he pointed to the right, gesturing upwards, "From that angle."  
Adrien nodded silently, still clutching at his stomach.  
"Don't worry, dude. We'll get you patched up soon." 

Far off to the right, Chloé and Lila waited for directions, or rather, orders. Marinette was furious, as Adrien was badly injured, so the team hadn't questioned any of her tactics so far. 

Up in the trees Marinette stood, rage evident on her face. As much as she was used to it, she did not like it when her friends were injured. She found herself taking it out on the Akumas as they never remembered what happened, and their injuries didn't carry over into their civilian identities.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at the wrestling match between Alya and 'Ms.Bustier', or now, The Seeker.  
She would need a couple more minutes until her plan could be set into action. 

They had mapped out a small grid of coordinates where the battle was, and she needed Lila to set up a portal in exactly the right place. After that, Chloé was required to pounce through the portal and venom the Akuma. 

Sadly, The Seeker was invisible, representing the children's vanishing, and right after Chloé had venomed her, she would fade away again.

That's why the timing had to be exactly right.

The fight shifted slightly to the right, and slowly, Marinette's hand went to her earpiece.   
"It's -3, 1.5." she said quietly, "3,"

Nino shifted on his feet.

"2,"

Lila started up her vortex, light illuminating from her palms.

"1..."

Chloé clenched her right hand into a fist.

Marinette whispered, "Go," 

She yanked her yo-yo out of her pocket and formed a fighting stance.

"OVER HERE, SEEKER, LOOK, THE EXITS THIS WAY!"  
Nino sprinted, holding up her 'lucky-charm', a bright light, in the air. "THATS IT, FOLLOW ME!"

Lila hissed in slight pain as the portal appeared out of her hands. Chloé pounced into it and soon appeared directly in front of The Seeker, not that she could see her. Chloé was directly on -3, 1.5. 

"Argh!" She screamed, when her venom lit up and the Akuma collided with it. Seeker screeched in pain and as quick as she appeared, she disappeared.

Luckily, Marinette's Yo-Yo caught her round the waist, and they had a direct outline of her body as she fell into a deep slumber. Chloé sighed in relief.

"You're not going anywhere, Akuma," Marinette mumbled sleepily, "No leaving this woods." She secured the corrupted item, before quickly snapping it as she hoisted the now-turned Mlle Bustier towards her.

Adrien, with Nino helping him walk, limped over to the group. "H-has anyone got-"

"Adrien!" Marinette flung herself towards him, gathering as much energy as she could, "Oh, it so much worse than I thought!" She gasped. Nino winced.  
"He kept bleeding out until we both de-transformed, so I used my shirt to block his wound." He showed he was shirtless, which none of them had even noticed up until that point, "I'm no doctor, though. Honestly Lila, I'm so grateful that you took those medical classes right now." He smiled sadly as she bent down to check Adrien.

"Mhm." Lila uttered, "De-Transform me..." she trailed off sleepily, reaching for her bag as her transformation wore off.   
Alya rushed over, dragging a disheveled Damian behind her. "I got Damia- oh my god! Adrien, Jesus Christ!" Alya's brows knitted together worriedly, "Is he going to be okay, doc?" She turned to Lila, only to find her sleeping peacefully on the floor. 

Damian frowned as he looked over the state of the team. "Let me take care of the six of you guys, you all look exhausted."   
Marinette hesitated, "You sure? Y'look pretty worn out too Dami'n," her words slurred together, going against the idea that she wasn't tired. 

Damian rolled his eyes, "I'm fine: you're the ones who spent hours fighting a villain, I'll take care of you all,"

The group smiled affectionately, as they knew this was his way of caring for them. 

It was sad to see a boy as nice as him suppress all his emotions daily. It made him come off as uncaring, bet they knew that was not the case.

"Do you need help?" Nino asked, trying to hide his desperation to fall asleep.

"It's fine. Honestly, you all look like you're about to drop dead!" He huffed. The team shared a round of exhausted laughter, Damian covering his wide smirk. "Seriously though, you all look too tired to even get home..." 

Chloé shook her head, "We're all used to it," she drawled, "Plus, Alya makes this really good coffee with energy drinks in it!" 

In conclusion, Damian was terrified for his new, and possibly only, friends. 

For both their mental and physical health. 

Adrien was bleeding out on the floor, Lila had fallen asleep in a pool of his blood, Marinette, Nino and Alya looked like they were on drugs, and Chloé had mentioned mixing Coffee and Energy drinks.

"Are you guys okay?" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

The response he got was Nino collapsing onto Lila, causing her to screech so loudly it was quite possible he had lost his hearing.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Damian winced. The others seemed to barely notice her voice, lost in their own worlds.

He sighed. "I'll take Lila and Nino."

————-

Screaming, Tim placed his phone down. He had repeated this cycle many times. 

Bruce groaned, "What did he say this time?" He continued to type on the Bat-computer.

He kicked his chair as far as it could go, "He hasn't said anything in 3 hours!" Tim turned to him, murder in his eyes, "Bruce! Damians missing! Don't you care?" 

He just blinked, before going back to the screen, "I'm hacking the security cameras, hold on..."

The screen glitched, before showing the street outside of the apartment. 3 kids were walking sluggishly outside. 

The reporter girl with big glasses, who they recognised as Alya Césaire, had Marie, or Marinette Licia, over her back. The petite girl was sleeping peacefully. 

Chloé Bourgeois, the Mayors daughter, had a heavily injured Adrien Agreste sprawled on her shoulder. 

His eyes widened at the boys condition. He needed proper medical attention!   
"What the hell happened...?" 

The two girls were laughing, at what they didn't know, until they turned to see Damian with Lila on his back and Nino in his arms.  
He was clearly saying, or heard, something funny, as he had the widest smile they had ever seen on his face. Damian suddenly burst out in small chuckles and a few giggles. Giggles! 

Tim did a double take. "Is that Demon Spawn Laughing, with two girls, carrying another two people?" He rubbed his eyes, "The fuck?"

Bruce furrowed his brows. "I'm more worried about the blonde boy bleeding out on Chloé bourgeois back." 

Tim blinked, "Oh yeah... wait, what?" He looked over again, "What happened to him?!" He shouted.

Bruce cleared his throat as the group walked into the apartment, "He needs serious treatment. We should go and get them all," he stood up, leaving Tim to think for himself.

The confused boy was left staring at the screen, strangely tempted to replay the footage over and over. As much as he was worried for the model, what threw him off was how happy his brother looked.

What could have possibly made him laugh like that? 

Although he and Damian didn't exactly see eye to eye, he didn't think they had any sort of real hatred between them. But now, as he watched his little brother open up more to a bunch of strangers than he ever had to him, Tim felt weirdly hurt. 

Did Damian really not enjoy their company?

A dreadful feeling crept up into his stomach. He thought over the snarky comments the two of them had exchanged over the years, and realised that maybe not both sides had been full of love the whole time.

Had the boy been genuinely hurt by their antics?

No, Tim reasoned, because he had made comments back. If he had been upset, he would have told them, right? Tim genuinely felt joy exchanging those small, playful remarks between the ex-assassin each day.

Damian was quite a direct person. If he hadn't liked how they were treating each other, he probably would of mentioned it.

After everything that they had been through, he really hoped that he knew they all loved him.

He was probably just overthinking things anyways.


	11. Let’s NOT wipe out the human kind

It was a normal day, as long as you ignore the fact that it wasn’t. Well, anything could be a normal day with these six at this point.

That was what Chloé had said, chugging her Coffee, which was mixed with red bull, down relentlessly. 

“Well, I mean, we’ve all literally died. It’s normal shit at this point,” she commented, refilling her mug to the brim.

Damian perked up, “I’ve been meaning to ask about that. How were you all even brought back?” 

Chloe shrugged, setting her cup onto the marble counter as she scrambled on top of it. “Well, if anyone other than Marinette dies, she brings them back with her powers.” She sipped her drink, “If she dies, we bring her back with guardian magic!”

“So you’re all metas?” He struggled to find an answer that fit with the rest.

The blonde girl scoffed. “Honey, we’re gods.”

“Everything you all say confuses me even more.” Damian groaned as she chuckled at him. “What’s guardian magic? And don’t skip around the proper answer this time,” his brows knitted together.

Damian walked silently over to the strange mixture of energy drinks and caffeine, “Also, can I try this?” 

Nodding her head, Chloe continued on with her stories which he had to remind himself were real. “I’m gonna give you the simple answer: there’s an old man who guards magic jewellery that keeps our powers stable. He’s a bit of an asshole, so we stole some of his spells to help Marinette out.”

Damian laughed a little, but this time he believed the tales she was spilling, “So, a puny old man guards jewellery which keeps shit stable, and you stole from him for your own benefit?” He rubbed his eyes, “Sorry, but that’s a little funny.”

Chloe cackled. “Actually, calling him an asshole is the understatement of the century. I should’ve killed him when I had the chance,”

Paying no mind to her remark at the end, Damian thought back to the day they had met. It was almost like they had known each other forever.

He remembered them mentioning past lives, and really considered the possibility that he had one.  
It would make a lot of sense.

The images in his mind changed to the tiny, silver ring ‘glued’ to his finger. 

Magic jewellery.

To keep powers stable.

Fuck.

“Is that why you had to give me this ring? So I didn’t destroy stuff.” He squinted his eyes as he tasted the drink, “Fuck, that’s disgusting.” He choked on the liquid mildly as his face scrunched up in disgust.

“Yes, but we also wanted to see you.” Chloé added on quickly, smiling before going back to her cocky persona.

Finally, stepping out of the oblivious idiot territory, Damian realised what that meant, “Okay...do I have powers then?”

She smirked, “At last, you're asking some real questions,” she wiped the drink off around her mouth, “Yes. Damian Wayne, you are officially a nerd with crazy weird abilities.”

What was he supposed to say to that?

It wasn’t really that surprising at this point. He was already feeling like the chosen one with how these kids were searching for him.

He frowned, “How come I’ve never seen them?” 

“That’s just how it works. They started acting up when Marinette’s life became more unstable because she’s your other half. You started breaking things I’m guessing.”

Damian bobbed his head. “So how do I do it now?” 

Chloe raised a brow, “Why the hell would I know? I realised I had powers when I accidentally parilized my dad,” she yawned, “It just sorta comes to me now. Sorry, I’m not exactly a genius.”

He leaned back onto the surface, “Is Adrien okay?” 

“Alyas patching him up since Lila’s asleep. She gets cranky in the night,” Chloé shivered.  
“I’ll just tell you more about magic since you seem to be quite in awe about that,” she teased.

He flipped her off, but also agreed reluctantly.

“So we’re all incarnations of gods. Marinette is of creation, you of destruction, me of bees and stuff, Alya of trickery, Nino of protection, Adrien of emotion, Lila of transportation.”  
She waited for him to cut in, but he stayed silent, “Marinette has creation powers, you…” she hesitated, “You suppress all your emotions, and then blow everything up all the time.”

“That sounds...fun.” Damian couldn’t lie and say that didn’t sound cool.

Chloe snorted, “I swear, you used to do it just to annoy Marinette.” She caught herself at the end, guiltily looking over to him, “Sorry, I forgot you don’t remember anything yet.” She smiled sheepishly.

“It’s fine,” Damian relaxed a tad as Chloé smiled, “Did I really live a past life?”

“Yeah. 4 of them. You’ll start getting flashbacks eventually.” 

He inquired, “Flashbacks? How does that work?”

“It’s like playing VR I guess. It just suddenly takes over your vision. Sometimes your past fears, likes, or dislikes take over your current ones as well,” Chloé was deep in thought, “And you might get a weird sense of remembrance when doing or saying something in particular.”

Damian stared ahead, lost in his mind.

A past life, huh?

Interesting.

—————

“How long are you guys going to stand around my bed like a bunch of creepers?” His words slurred together as he attempted to push himself up.

Alya arched her brow, “As long as it takes for you to get better.” 

“I’m fine-” Adrien suddenly spiralled into a violent coughing fit, clutching at his chest.  
As he rushed over to his side Nino grabbed a hold of a glass of water that had just been made.

“Here dude,” he held it outwards to his best friend, “This’ll help.”

“T-Thanks.” Adrien's voice was low and gravelly, voice cracks evident in the middle of his words. He swallowed some slowly, his throat horribly sore. 

Alya sighed, “It will take a few days to get better. I couldn’t find much of the right medicine,”

He just nodded, leaning back into his pillows.  
“Where...the others,” Adrien tried to say as little as possible. Snuggling further into the blankets, he glanced up for an answer.

“Marinette and Lila are still asleep, and Chloé and Damian are out getting us a pillow fort ready so you three can be comfortable.” Nino sat down on his feet, “I know fights drain you guys the most.” He smiled sadly.

Nino clenched his teeth as Adrien looked at his stitched up wound. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you,” he stared down in shame.

Adrien shook his head swiftly, “Not your fault.” He placed his hand upon Ninos, comforting him.

“Still…” he dragged on, “I failed.”

Alya tutted at her boyfriend's idea, “No. And if we did, it wasn’t just you.” She smiled warmly.  
Nino weakly grinned, appreciating the attempt to cheer him up.

“Guys!” Realisation spread across Alyas face, “It’s Marinette’s birthday literally,” she checked her watch, “In 20 minutes!”

Adrien beamed. “Do you want me to go set it up for the morning?” Nino offered, and Alya thanked him.

As he left the room, Chloé came tumbling in, smirking wickedly. “You’ll never guess what happened!” She teased.

The blonde boy tilted his head. “Hm?”

“Well, Marinette woke up.” She folded her arms triumphantly, “So I left her and Damian alone in the pillow fort together!”

Alya gasped. “My ship is finally going to sail again after 320 years!” She started bouncing round the room, debating about how they would confess their feelings. 

Adrien sighed blissfully.

Sometimes things were just too weird for him.

—————-

“So you’re telling me...Damian let those new kids at school...kidnap him?” As confused as he was, Jon couldn’t help but let out a little snort, “I don’t believe that.” 

Dick glared, “I’m serious!” He adjusted his position on his feet, “We came to you because you're his best friend. You need to talk some sense into him!”

Yawning, Jon climbed back through his window. At least, he tried to. 

“You’re going to help us!” The man grabbed a hold of his waist, pulling him backward.

“I don’t even believe you!” Jon screeched, prying his hands off him, “Damians not an idiot! Plus, he probably would have scared them off by now,” he hissed.

Dick cried out, “Come on! Just come with me and you’ll see I’m not lying!” 

“It’s fucking 12:40 PM!” Jon kicked at his face, “I don’t have time for this,” 

“What if he’s actually in danger!?” He argued, yanking at his feet desperately.

His right eye twitched tired annoyance. “And what if he’s not?”

Dick shrugged. “Is it really worth the risk?”

His body flailed around in a childish manner, before going limp. Groaning, Jon reluctantly agreed. “Lead the way.”

What had happened, you might ask?

Well, Nightwing had smashed through his window a few minutes ago, claiming Damian was being held hostage by a few normal teens whom Damian didn’t even know.

Bear in mind the boy was extremely anxious due to the upcoming test, so he didn’t have time for Wayne's shit right now.

Why was he even following him?


	12. The girl is crying, what must I do?

"I have a view at the window," Red Robin said into the coms. "Three of them...Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe and Adrien Agreste are in a bedroom together," he informed.

"Is Mr.Agreste injured?" Batman's gravelly voice broke through. 

Tim hummed, "Yeah, he's gone into a coughing fit. I'll see what I can hear," 

Batman just nodded to himself. "Put it on speaker so we all can hear." He ordered.

"T-Thanks." The injured blonde voiced. He swallowed some water slowly. 

Césaire sighed, "It will take a few days to get better. I couldn't find much of the right medicine,"

"Why didn't they go to the hospital...?" Jobs mumbling was heard.

He just nodded, leaning back into his pillows.  
"Where...the others," Adrien tried to say as little as possible. Snuggling further into the blankets, he glanced up for an answer.

"Marinette and Lila are still asleep, and Chloé and Damian are out getting us a pillow fort ready so you three can be comfortable." Nino sat down on his feet, "I know fights drain you guys the most." He smiled sadly.

Fights? Tim mentally noted to ask about that.  
And Demon spawn, making a pillow fort? He couldn't believe that.

Nino clenched his teeth as Adrien looked at his stitched up wound. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he stared down in shame.

Red Robins eyes narrowed at the discussion. It seemed there was more going on than they thought.

Adrien shook his head swiftly, "Not your fault." He placed his hand upon Ninos, comforting him.

"Still..." he dragged on, "I failed."

Alya tutted at her boyfriend's idea, "No. And if we did, it wasn't just you." She smiled warmly.  
Nino weakly grinned, appreciating the attempt to cheer him up.

"Guys!" Realisation spread across Alyas face, "It's Marinette's birthday literally," she checked her watch, "In 20 minutes!"

Adrien beamed. "Do you want me to go set it up for the morning?" Nino offered, and Alya thanked him.

As he left the room, Chloé came tumbling in, smirking wickedly. "You'll never guess what happened!" She teased.

The blonde boy tilted his head. "Hm?"

"Well, Marinette woke up." She folded her arms triumphantly, "So I left her and Damian alone in the pillow fort together!"

Tim smirked no matter how hard he tried not to. These people were just as set on getting Damian into a relationship.

Alya gasped. "My ship is finally going to sail again after 320 years!" She started bouncing round the room, debating about how they would confess their feelings. 

320 years? 

Adrien sighed blissfully.

Sometimes things were just too weird for him.

These people were just too weird.

—————-

"Marinette," Damian spotted her fumbling through different movies, "You're awake." 

She bobbed her head, grinning sheepishly, "Would you help me pick?" Holding three movies out to him, Marinette shifted closer. 

Damian smiled, "Okay. What are they all about?" 

"Well," the designer picked up a blue disc with seven characters on the front, "This is the Umbrella academy. We all really like it because it sort of reminds us of each other with all the power stuff," she noted, a fond expression on her face. Damian reminded himself to make her smile more often.

Marinette moved along to a larger case. "This is Stranger things, and Alya and Lila are absolutely obsessed with it. It's about supernatural monsters invading the earth, but it's not your typical Alien vs humans series! I think you'd love it," she giggled.

"Why?" Damian queried, drawn to the certain movie, "Is it good?" 

Marinette grinned, "It has that serious, mystery vibe, but is also a total comedy so I think it'd be perfect for you," 

"And the last one?" 

"Death Note. It's about a boy who finds a book, and whomever's name you write in it dies."

Damian laughed, "That sounds...gruesomely exciting." 

"I know right?" Marinette pouted, "The others, minus Lila, say it's too dark for them. It's only an 18+."

"We're not exactly 18, Angel," he arched his brow. Damian was unsure as to why she went bright red, but he wasn't complaining.

Marinette stumbled over her words, "A-angel? I'm not," steam was practically coming out of her ears as her neck went red too.

He was left perplexed until he noticed what he had said, and he too blushed, "Uh, sorry if you, um, didn't like I-it!" Get it together, Wayne! Since when did he stutter?

"No! N-no, it's fine, I like it," she said as calmly as possible, palms sweaty.

He just nodded quickly, promptly hiding his face in his knees. Marinette hummed in thought, "If you're going to call me Angel, I need a nickname for you too," 

Damian eyes widened, ears going pink, "For me?"

"How about...Alamea?" Marinette turned to him, mouth hung open and eyes glistening with curiosity. Damian stared in shock, "That means...precious, correct?" He asked, cheeks dusted pink.

She sent a thumbs up, beaming. "Why precious?" He asked, trying to cool his face down.

She leaned up to whisper in his ear, hoping no one would hear, "Because you're precious to me," She smiled as if it was the most simple thing in the world. 

Damian flushed, and then smirked. Two could play at that game. "Now I feel like I need to come up with a better one," he sulked. 

Marinette laughed. "You can't beat that!" She remarked, certain hers was the best. She sipped her hot cocoa.

"No?" He asked, leaning to whisper in her ear, "Then maybe...Beloved, would work fine?" He chuckled as she turned pink and huffed, "You cheated!" She stuck her tongue out and he surprisingly did it back.

Damian assumed the reason he felt so comfortable with Marinette was due to them being Soulmates and his previous reincarnations.

He decided to just roll with it, because there was nothing wrong with feeling happy with someone you trust. 

And Damian felt as though Marinette should be called his Beloved.

—————

Tapping her feet idly, the writer danced around the room gracefully, swaying her hips to the music. She opened her eyes to see her boyfriend watching her quietly, his lips going upwards at the corners. She squeaked.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Bri," Félix chuckled, patting the space next to him as she grumbled, "What are you thinking about?" He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Sighing, Bridgette leaned into him, "Those new kids at school didn't show up for any of their classes. I'm really worried about them."

Félix frowned, but attempted to lighten the mood, "I heard Ice Prince got assigned to give them a tour. Perhaps he scared them off," 

"That's the thing, Fe. He didn't go home today either," his brows knitted together, "Bruce Wayne called the school an hour at four while I was in the music room, asking for his whereabouts."

She whispered, "What if they're all hurt. I heard that they're really nice kids." 

Snuggling further into her, Felix shook his head, "I'm sure they're okay, Bri. They'll be found." 

As she drifted off to sleep, Felix got a feeling that he should be doing something to help those kids. Even Wayne.

No, he was no hero. He'd leave it to the authorities.

—————

Lila groggily trotted down the stairs and towards the kitchen. She opened the door, looking around for any sign of someone. 

"Oh, Rossi." Chloé stood at the counter, filling a few bowls with popcorn. To the side of her was Nino, arranging candles on a vanilla cake, smiling at her, "Hey Lila, wanna help with Marinette's cake?" 

Oh yeah! Marinette's birthday. The 5 of them had been told by her not to get anything, not even a card. They were puzzled, but listened as she told them it was important to her that they didn't. 

She hadn't said anything about cake, Adrien had commented cheekily and she had agreed reluctantly with them.

Due to the lack of gifts, they had all taken to buying a humongous cake and each decorated a part filled with beautiful memories.

Chloe's has a...decent, drawing of them both holding hands, with a few ladybugs and bees together around them.

Ninos was a drawing of the clothes from when they had done an outfit swap, and both laughed their heads off at him in makeup.

The others were filled with fun memories, such as their first battle or the macaroon that first bonded her and Alya. 

Lila quickly noticed that Damian too had done something, and teared up when she saw what. 

It was a gorgeously drawn pink rose that Damian had given Marinette when they had met in their first ever life. 

Chloe smiled, "You noticed, huh? He said that the flower felt important," she mentioned.

"He did?" Lila grinned, eyes wet, "Well, we better prepare for some sappy stuff, fellow Ace person." 

Nino laughed, "That's what I said. Minus the Ace part,"

————-


	13. The girl is crying, what do I do

"I have a view at the window," Red Robin said into the coms. "Three of them...Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe and Adrien Agreste are in a bedroom together," he informed.

"Is Mr.Agreste injured?" Batman's gravelly voice broke through. 

Tim hummed, "Yeah, he's gone into a coughing fit. I'll see what I can hear," 

Batman just nodded to himself. "Put it on speaker so we all can hear." He ordered.

"T-Thanks." The injured blonde voiced. He swallowed some water slowly. 

Césaire sighed, "It will take a few days to get better. I couldn't find much of the right medicine,"

"Why didn't they go to the hospital...?" Jobs mumbling was heard.

He just nodded, leaning back into his pillows.  
"Where...the others," Adrien tried to say as little as possible. Snuggling further into the blankets, he glanced up for an answer.

"Marinette and Lila are still asleep, and Chloé and Damian are out getting us a pillow fort ready so you three can be comfortable." Nino sat down on his feet, "I know fights drain you guys the most." He smiled sadly.

Fights? Tim mentally noted to ask about that.  
And Demon spawn, making a pillow fort? He couldn't believe that.

Nino clenched his teeth as Adrien looked at his stitched up wound. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he stared down in shame.

Red Robins eyes narrowed at the discussion. It seemed there was more going on than they thought.

Adrien shook his head swiftly, "Not your fault." He placed his hand upon Ninos, comforting him.

"Still..." he dragged on, "I failed."

Alya tutted at her boyfriend's idea, "No. And if we did, it wasn't just you." She smiled warmly.  
Nino weakly grinned, appreciating the attempt to cheer him up.

"Guys!" Realisation spread across Alyas face, "It's Marinette's birthday literally," she checked her watch, "In 20 minutes!"

Adrien beamed. "Do you want me to go set it up for the morning?" Nino offered, and Alya thanked him.

As he left the room, Chloé came tumbling in, smirking wickedly. "You'll never guess what happened!" She teased.

The blonde boy tilted his head. "Hm?"

"Well, Marinette woke up." She folded her arms triumphantly, "So I left her and Damian alone in the pillow fort together!"

Tim smirked no matter how hard he tried not to. These people were just as set on getting Damian into a relationship.

Alya gasped. "My ship is finally going to sail again after 320 years!" She started bouncing round the room, debating about how they would confess their feelings. 

320 years? 

Adrien sighed blissfully.

Sometimes things were just too weird for him.

These people were just too weird.

—————-

"Marinette," Damian spotted her fumbling through different movies, "You're awake." 

She bobbed her head, grinning sheepishly, "Would you help me pick?" Holding three movies out to him, Marinette shifted closer. 

Damian smiled, "Okay. What are they all about?" 

"Well," the designer picked up a blue disc with seven characters on the front, "This is the Umbrella academy. We all really like it because it sort of reminds us of each other with all the power stuff," she noted, a fond expression on her face. Damian reminded himself to make her smile more often.

Marinette moved along to a larger case. "This is Stranger things, and Alya and Lila are absolutely obsessed with it. It's about supernatural monsters invading the earth, but it's not your typical Alien vs humans series! I think you'd love it," she giggled.

"Why?" Damian queried, drawn to the certain movie, "Is it good?" 

Marinette grinned, "It has that serious, mystery vibe, but is also a total comedy so I think it'd be perfect for you," 

"And the last one?" 

"Death Note. It's about a boy who finds a book, and whomever's name you write in it dies."

Damian laughed, "That sounds...gruesomely exciting." 

"I know right?" Marinette pouted, "The others, minus Lila, say it's too dark for them. It's only an 18+."

"We're not exactly 18, Angel," he arched his brow. Damian was unsure as to why she went bright red, but he wasn't complaining.

Marinette stumbled over her words, "A-angel? I'm not," steam was practically coming out of her ears as her neck went red too.

He was left perplexed until he noticed what he had said, and he too blushed, "Uh, sorry if you, um, didn't like I-it!" Get it together, Wayne! Since when did he stutter?

"No! N-no, it's fine, I like it," she said as calmly as possible, palms sweaty.

He just nodded quickly, promptly hiding his face in his knees. Marinette hummed in thought, "If you're going to call me Angel, I need a nickname for you too," 

Damian eyes widened, ears going pink, "For me?"

"How about...Alamea?" Marinette turned to him, mouth hung open and eyes glistening with curiosity. Damian stared in shock, "That means...precious, correct?" He asked, cheeks dusted pink.

She sent a thumbs up, beaming. "Why precious?" He asked, trying to cool his face down.

She leaned up to whisper in his ear, hoping no one would hear, "Because you're precious to me," She smiled as if it was the most simple thing in the world. 

Damian flushed, and then smirked. Two could play at that game. "Now I feel like I need to come up with a better one," he sulked. 

Marinette laughed. "You can't beat that!" She remarked, certain hers was the best. She sipped her hot cocoa.

"No?" He asked, leaning to whisper in her ear, "Then maybe...Beloved, would work fine?" He chuckled as she turned pink and huffed, "You cheated!" She stuck her tongue out and he surprisingly did it back.

Damian assumed the reason he felt so comfortable with Marinette was due to them being Soulmates and his previous reincarnations.

He decided to just roll with it, because there was nothing wrong with feeling happy with someone you trust. 

And Damian felt as though Marinette should be called his Beloved.

—————

Tapping her feet idly, the writer danced around the room gracefully, swaying her hips to the music. She opened her eyes to see her boyfriend watching her quietly, his lips going upwards at the corners. She squeaked.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Bri," Félix chuckled, patting the space next to him as she grumbled, "What are you thinking about?" He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

Sighing, Bridgette leaned into him, "Those new kids at school didn't show up for any of their classes. I'm really worried about them."

Félix frowned, but attempted to lighten the mood, "I heard Ice Prince got assigned to give them a tour. Perhaps he scared them off," 

"That's the thing, Fe. He didn't go home today either," his brows knitted together, "Bruce Wayne called the school an hour at four while I was in the music room, asking for his whereabouts."

She whispered, "What if they're all hurt. I heard that they're really nice kids." 

Snuggling further into her, Felix shook his head, "I'm sure they're okay, Bri. They'll be found." 

As she drifted off to sleep, Felix got a feeling that he should be doing something to help those kids. Even Wayne.

No, he was no hero. He'd leave it to the authorities.

—————

Lila groggily trotted down the stairs and towards the kitchen. She opened the door, looking around for any sign of someone. 

"Oh, Rossi." Chloé stood at the counter, filling a few bowls with popcorn. To the side of her was Nino, arranging candles on a vanilla cake, smiling at her, "Hey Lila, wanna help with Marinette's cake?" 

Oh yeah! Marinette's birthday. The 5 of them had been told by her not to get anything, not even a card. They were puzzled, but listened as she told them it was important to her that they didn't. 

She hadn't said anything about cake, Adrien had commented cheekily and she had agreed reluctantly with them.

Due to the lack of gifts, they had all taken to buying a humongous cake and each decorated a part filled with beautiful memories.

Chloe's has a...decent, drawing of them both holding hands, with a few ladybugs and bees together around them.

Ninos was a drawing of the clothes from when they had done an outfit swap, and both laughed their heads off at him in makeup.

The others were filled with fun memories, such as their first battle or the macaroon that first bonded her and Alya. 

Lila quickly noticed that Damian too had done something, and teared up when she saw what. 

It was a gorgeously drawn pink rose that Damian had given Marinette when they had met in their first ever life. 

Chloe smiled, "You noticed, huh? He said that the flower felt important," she mentioned.

"He did?" Lila grinned, eyes wet, "Well, we better prepare for some sappy stuff, fellow Ace person." 

Nino laughed, "That's what I said. Minus the Ace part,"

————-


	14. Where's my epic background music?

Tapping her foot, Marinette curled up further into Damian. She was dreading what her friends had done for her birthday: of course, she would be grateful and was overjoyed to have Damian there to celebrate. 

Yet, her stomach still plummeted at the idea of celebrating her birthday in America, not Paris. It was almost terrifying. Without her parents, or Nadja, and her old classmates, the bakery…

It just wasn’t right. Plus, she possessed a surprise of her own. Marinette had sent out a message to Alix, mentioning that she was no longer unhealthy and that they only had a few more obstacles ahead of them.

The trio, firstly, had congratulated her, and of course, commanded an explanation. In a friendly way. She had rolled her eyes and said that she would send them a ‘ride’ to where they were: Lila’s portals.

They would never see it coming.

Sighing, Marinette went back to her more unhappy thoughts. Did she ask to be ‘the chosen one’?  
No. Would she exchange it for anything? No. Did she wish it was easier? Yes. 

What’s so great about being gifted with godly powers, other than having Damian as her other half? So far, all it had gotten her was chased from one country to another, a crazy man unknowingly terrorizing Paris, and a headache in the form of Batman who didn’t know when to shut the fuck up!

Honestly, the old man didn’t know when to give it a rest.

Damian's fingers sifted absentmindedly through her hair, swiftly putting her at peace. He seemed to barely realize he was doing it, falling into a steady rhythm as she listened to his hushed breathing. 

There were certain instances where Marinette forgot that Damian might’ve seen her as a stranger and that he was confused as to why he was so comfortable with her - he called her beloved! 

It made her slightly proud that she got the gloomy boy to warm up to her in a day or two. Even if they had already met, she saw it as an accomplishment.

”Marinette?” she felt shifting beside her, ”Happy birthday, Beloved.” Her eyes expanded, and she struggled not to cry.

”Th...Thank you, Damian.”

Yes. 

Even though she may not be with her family, Damian would always be her true home. And they were ultimately together again.

She would be okay.

Because Damian has finally been found.

And he sure as hell wasn't leaving yet.

\------------

”So, I should just...go in there and demand they give us him back? How do we even know they kidnapped him?” 

Tim narrowed his eyes at him, ”Because Damian doesn't just...just make friends!” he shook him back and forth, ”Jon, he was giggling!”

”Fine, whatever. I want a free Starbucks after this, ” He said, slumping down to peer into the side window, ”They’re literally making birthday cake - they can’t be that bad.”

A gruff voice came through the coms, ”They threw a slipper at my face!” 

”Pfft. You deserved it!” Dick was heard after Jason, ”Ignore everything that the idiots said. Just go in there and talk to Damian, ” 

Jon snapped, ”Okay! I'm going, geez, ” he scrambled down the side of the building, snapping open the window lock. 

He slid silently into the room, which was littered in empty popcorn boxes and CD’s thrown everywhere. 

”Oh no, there's popcorn on the floor, we're all gonna die, ” he said sarcastically into the earpiece. 

”Superboy!” Dick shouted.

He flinched, nearly crashing into a glass bowl during his fall. ”Okaaay!”

Focusing back on the mission, mostly due to the free Starbucks and his essay, he turned his gaze to the room. Jon momentarily wondered what had happened, cringing at the broken bowls, or now, pieces of glass and plastic, on the ground.

”Alright, the birthday cake needs 15 candles, right?” A voice echoed from down the hall, and he tensed.

Mhm, cake- wait, no! Snap out of it, Kent! You have an essay to finish and a Starbucks to drink!

”Yep!” There was a short round of footsteps and he hid next to the doorway, out of sight. ”Damian's with Marinette, right?” A pause. ”Message him to keep her distracted!” 

So Damian was with some Marinette. That was helpful. He peeked around the doorframe, squinting. He edged closer and- 

”Hey there, buddy.” 

His blood ran cold and he spun around on his feet, facing his ’attacker’.

The person, a tall girl, had on an oversized jumper with some black shorts on, while her hair was tied up into a ponytail. Jon could've sworn her glare was piercing right through him.

A small hint of recognition took over her face, she hid it cleverly, however, he did not miss it.  
She feigned surprise, ”Why are you here, J- Superboy?”

Jon quickly regained his posture, dreaming of his future cappuccino, ”Uh, hello miss. I'm here to ask, ” He cleared his throat, ”Is Damian Wayne in this building by any chance?”

”Damian Wayne?” The girl placed a finger to her lip, beaming, ”Ah! Yeah, he's here to celebrate our friend Marie's birthday! Is everything alright?”

Nodding quickly, he sent a warm smile to her, ”That's good to hear. Could I have a word with him, please?”

She hesitated, something he warily took note of, before grinning a tad too wide, ”Of course! I'll take you to him.”

Palms sweaty, Alya gradually twisted the doorknob. She glanced around before leading him into the kitchen. 

Nino spluttered at the sight of him, smiling suspiciously, while Chloe and Lila did their best to act like normal people.

Her eyes were wild as she introduced Jon to them, ”H-hey guys, superboy here was, uh, ” she leaned back onto the counter, ”For Damian! Yea!” 

”Oh, Right, yeah! He's here too, um…” Nino trailed off, searching for an answer, ”To watch movies with us!” 

Jon narrowed his eyes and behind him, Alya shook her head frantically, making crazy gestures, ”I thought you said he was here for someone's birthday.”

Lila cut in, smiling ”He is! We’re watching a movie for her birthday!” 

Good old Lila, always was a good liar. Old habits die hard, Alya supposed. The boy seemed to believe it, relaxing slightly. Hopefully Damian would be able to get him to leave or something.

”Hey guys, I think one of the windows just broke.”

Speak of the devil.

”Mr. Wayne! There you are, ” Jon grinned at the sight of him. He was starting to think these kids really did kidnap him.

Damian did a double-take and frowned, ”Why are you here?” He crossed his arms, silently cursing him for his timing.

Superboy gulped, laughing, ”Your family sent me: they're worried sick! Could we talk for a minute? Alone?”

Damian scowled, ”Sure.”

\--------------

”Your brother said you've been missing!” Jon pleaded with him, ”Just go and talk to them for a minute!”

Damian just kept glaring and so he continued, ”Your dad wants to check on that injured boy in the bedroom by the way,” His eyes widened, “No idea what he’s talking about, but he told me to tell you.”

Adrien? Shit, he must’ve hacked the cameras!

There was a lot of blood from his wound, and father would likely end up putting it through tests. Damian couldn’t risk his father finding out about their abilities: although they had made it apparent they weren’t meta, he couldn’t risk it.

As soon as Father knew about it they’d be out of the country, and he didn’t want to lose his new friends yet. Not until he knew the full truth.

”TT. Fine, bring me to them then, Kent.” 

\-----------------

”Little D! You're ok!” Prying the ever-grateful Nightwing off of him, Damian rolled his eyes, almost panicked.

Jon could tell something was up (now that he was fully awake) but chose to stay quiet for the time being.

”Why wouldn't I be? I was about to wish a happy birthday to M- Dupain-Cheng.” 

The group gaped, mildly embarrassed. ”But...you were giggling!” Tim screeched, suddenly right in front of him.

”I don’t giggle!” Damian grumbled, cheeks dusted pink. He folded his arms, ”They are trustworthy, father.”

The man, who had been standing in the corner enveloped in darkness, stepped forwards, ”I'm more worried about Mr. Agrestes condition.”

Mumbling something, Damiam clenched his fists, formulating a plan, ”Agreste was jumped by a mugger when we all went out, but as you know, he is not here legally, so we could not send him to a hospital.”

Bruce arched a brow, searching his son for any traces of deceit. ”I would like to speak with him.”

”He's sleeping.” 

”Then I would like to speak with the rest of your new friends.”

”It would be rude to impose on a girls birthday, don’t you think, father?” Damian scathed, challenging him.

Jon had known Damian a very long time - almost 6 years, so he knew what Damian looked like when he was angry, sad, happy. His eyes trailed over the boys shaking hands, rage or fear he wondered, as well as the way his eyes bounced around.

Damian was scared, almost terrified. Of what? His knees kept close as his arms wrapped together in more of a nervous way. 

What the hell had happened?


	15. We can’t have faith for everybody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updates are so slow, I’m so sorry. I’ll try harder. Promise 💞

I walked away because you were too busy finding faults while I was too busy overlooking yours

The two were left glaring at each other, neither faltering. Jon, Jason, Tim and Dick were sweating to the side.

”Damian.” Bruce warned, somehow deepening his glare.

”Father.” Damian said back, ever confident, standing his ground. Like hell he was going to put his new friends in even more danger. 

Getting involved with Batman, or even Bruce Wayne, never had positive results. He spoke from experience.

His father stepped forwards, ”Bring me to Adrien. I won't do any harm.” 

”I already told you. He is sleeping.” Damian uttered, visibly irritated.

”He needs medical attention. You don't want him to be permanently hurt, do you?” he grunted. Wincing, Damian considered for a moment.

He didn't want Adrien scarred, and it's not like Father had bought a blood test with him. But then again, it was also Marinette’s birthday. And he didn't want to spoil that.

It wasn't really his choice to make anyways. He should probably ask them. Glancing once more at the group of vigilantes, he bellowed through the window, ”They want to talk to one of you!”

Sighing in relief, Nightwing shuffled over to Bruce, ”What's wrong with that Adrien boy? He was injured?”

”He was bruised everywhere, and his clothes had a worrying amount of blood on.” Batman crossed his arms, ”He needs medical attention.”

Surprised, Nightwing nodded. I wonder why Damian didn't want to bring us to him, he sighed.

Shuffling was heard and a girl's head popped up from the window. She had rose gold hair and was wearing simple yellow pj’s. Her expression was almost a direct copy of Damian's - very annoyed.

”Oh, hello.” She, whom he recognized as Chloe Bourgeois, smirked at them. Bad vibes radiated off of her, but she seemed to hold no ill intention.  
”What brings you all here on top of our roof? Secret meeting?”

Jason was holding in his laughter, clutching at his stomach where Tim elbowed him. Besides them, Jon was finally fully awake and had taken in the situation.

Bruce cleared his throat, obviously not afraid of a few teenagers, ”We’re here to speak with you. This is a very serious matter, miss.”

Quickly losing all playfulness in her tone, she edged back towards the window. ”And how can we trust you?” she snarled.

Tim chimed in, pity all over his face, ”These people are clearly your family. I understand, family is important to me, too - we just want to help you guys.”

There was a small hint of shock at Tims kindness, which made Dicks eyes fill with sadness.

The kids seemed to be strangers to kindness. A Lot like Damian.

”Ten minutes. Max. We have things to do.” She walked over to the window, climbing down, ”I don’t have all day!”

With that, the five heroes followed suit.

\------------------

”Did you get that message from Mari?” Max frowned, ”She says she's going to send us a ride to Gotham?”

Alix snorted, ”Another joke. Calm down.”

”No, no.” he shook his head, ”She seemed pretty serious.”

”You overthink things, my dude.” she grinned, ”She’ll probably video call us soon.”

”Right, ” he mumbled, unsure.

\------------------

”Hey, Alamea.” Still blushing at the nickname, Damian crouched next to Marinette, giving one of his rare smiles, which seemed to be becoming quite common around them.

”Beloved. The others are...fixing an issue, ” he cringed, letting her lean onto him, ”Its okay though.”

Arching a brow, Mari sat up, ”Is your Father finally here?”

”Yeah, ” he sighed, ”I'm sorry.”

”It's not your fault. I'll come with you guys, ” she smiled, gripping his hand. 

And, wow, was that the best feeling. He knew he should’ve been more focused on the current matter, but he just couldn't when he was holding her hand.

It sent tingling sensations all through his body, familiar ones. Marinette's smaller hand seemed to fit perfectly into his, and he tried to stop himself from smiling like an idiot, he did. 

It didn't help.

Little did he know, she was getting the exact same feeling she had had hundreds of years ago. So, so many of them.

“You do not have to come, Beloved,” he squeezed her palm, “It’s your birthday.”

“Exactly,” she giggled, standing up and he wished he was still holding onto her like his lifeline, as embarrassing as it was, “And it would be boring if I didn’t spend it with my favourite people, wouldn’t it?”

Favourite people?

He liked the sound of that.

“It sure would.”

\------------------

“So...he’s fine.”

“He’s got internal bleeding.”

“...we used bandages.” 

“Right…” Tim muttered, jotting down their conversation. In conclusion, Lila Rossi was a very convincing person. But not enough.

Timothy had seen right through her.

Time for an interrogation montage, yes?

———— *insert cool transition here* ————-

“So, Miss Liciá, could you tell me what happened to Adrien?” 

Marinette rubbed her neck, awkwardly shifting foot to foot, “Please, call me Marinette.”

“Alright, Marinette. Well?” Dick queried.

“You see…”

—————

“I fell out of a tree!” Adrien blurted, looking anywhere but him. He melted down into his covers, trying to hide the poorly wrapped wounds.

“A tree?” Bruce repeated.

“Yes! A…uh, very big tree.” Adrien yelled, sweat dripping down his forehead. 

—————

Alya picked at her fingernails, “Nice weather, isn’t it?”

“The boy?” Jason crossed his arms.

Rude.

“Oh right,” she smiled, “We were jumped by a few guys. Up near the park - Damian was showing us around!”

“Mhm. ‘Kay.” 

—————-

Chloé wailed, “Adrikins got stabbed by some terrible man on the way back from the mall! It was just terrible!” 

She collapsed into Jon’s arms, who tried to pry her off while comforting her. Jonathon rubbed her head, quickly getting her a glass of water.

Fool, Chloe smirked darkly, forming a revenge plan.

—————

“And you,” Jason entered the living room with Nino, “What happened to Adrien, kid?”

Nino launched three feet into the air, face planting into the couch. The boy quickly scrambled to get up, “I’m okay!”

“And?”

“Oh! Right, thatttttt story. Of course I remember that!” He choked on his words, “Butterflies tried to eat him!”

“What?”

Well, he couldn’t change his story now. 

—————

“So...all together, three of them said they were  
jumped by some thugs, Chloe said a man stabbed him, Adrien said he fell out of a tree…”

“And Nino said he was devoured by butterflies?”

In the background, Damian snorted, coughing to cover it up. “Butterflies,” he mumbled, grinning.

“Butterflies? I heard that correctly, right?” Dick asked, muffling his laughter.

“That’s what Jason said,” Tim shrugged, hiding a smile of his own.

“So, we know that they’re lying.” Bruce said, frowning, “So what happened. I wonder,”

“Damian.” Bruce acknowledged Damian, turning to him for answers. That’s a first, he mused.

“Hm?” He shoved his hands in his pockets, eyes shimmering with mischief. 

“What happened?” His father's voice was sharp, furious at him. All the anger directed at him. It always was - never anyone else’s fault, just him.

It’s just how he was raised. To lie.

It would be the most logical conclusion to go with the most popular answer that they were jumped by muggers on the street.

“Mugged.” He concluded, glowering, “Like I said.”

“Like only four out of seven of you said. This isn’t a game, son.” Bruce spoke to him as a threat, although it was already painfully obvious he had never trusted him to begin with.

“Why the hell would I know why the other three lied?” Act dumb. It’s the smartest route right now.

“So, you don’t know?” Father narrowed his eyes at him accusingly.

“No.” 

They stared for a while, before Bruce sighed, “I’m sorry for not trusting you, Damian.”

“Hmph.”

“So,” Tim began, “What are we going to do?”

Bruce hesitated, a rare thing, before he spoke, “They’re just kids. We can leave them alone. Besides, Damian seems to get along quite nicely with them, he can keep watch.”

“I trust him.”

Oh, how he would come to regret that.


	16. Things go wonderfully right (or horribly wrong)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say that there are supposed to be things the reader won't understand. Like, for all you know one of the mc's could be hiding a big secret. (hint hint) also, please remember this also supposed to be more funny than serious, but it's both.

Yep, that's me.

No, not the vague figure you're imaging from the zero amount of information I've given you, and no, I'm not the heroic-yet-relatable main character you'd expect either. I'm the one that's currently, and quite poetically, hiding behind an old lady's desk. 

My name is Felix, I'm 16, and let me just be perfectly clear that this was not my fault. It's theirs! I don't even have to be here right now. They're lucky I'm considerate.

I glimpse up, spotting a clock. 7:13. Seven minutes. The lady at the desk would be here in Five minutes. I needed to find a new hiding place. Crouching up, my eyes travelled over the front office. Finally, I spotted a side room, where they kept all the paper and stationary. Good enough. 

Dashing out from my spot, I looked around, before sliding into the room. Just as I did, I heard the familiar click of the front door. The old hag was here. The sound of her cane clicked on the floor as she walked to her desk, sitting down. I whipped my phone out - 3 minutes.

My phone started to buzz, and it almost slipped out my hand. "No no no!" I muttered.  
I answered it and quickly shoved it to my ear. "Felix?" I quickly checked out the window, seeing the office lady hadn't noticed. I sighed in relief, "Hey Bri. Now, uh, isn't really a good time."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, "Do i need to call for help?" I chuckled, a small smile spread across my face.  
"No, I'm fine. I just went to pick up those new kids from the main office," she gasped, and I could practically sense her beam.   
"What are they like? Are they cute-"  
"They're not here yet." I snorted. The door rang again, "Actually, they are now."  
"Oh! Well, I guess ill go!"  
"Yeah, I love you Bri."  
"Love you too! Mwah!"

I grinned, dropping it back into my pocket and checking outside. Yep, they were here. And they had brought Wayne. I could see my cousin with them too. I slowly opened the door, seeing the lady distracted talking to the ginger. I walked out, my hands in my pockets casually.

I could see Adrien gape like a fish, gulping and nudging the guy in a cap next to him. Something seemed different. As we made eye contact, I noticed. He had...Pink iris'. Was the idiot really wearing pink contacts to school? Did he think that was going to disguise him for longer than a week?

Wayne was narrowing his eyes at me, and I glared right back. It felt like we were having a showdown, and I would win. We were interrupted by a cough from beside us. The office lady, Hilda, was scowling at us, "Mr. Agreste. May I ask why you are here?"

"The headmistress had asked me herself to escort them. She said they were free of all punishment, and that she knows what happened."

She didn't look impressed, and I pulled out the note and handed it to her. She grumbled, "This checks out. Off you go!" She waved her hand dismissively.

Thank god Allegra was good at forging handwriting. I'd be dead otherwise.

☯︎~---------------------------------------------------------~☯︎

He pressed his face against the window, taking in the passing fields. Ever since he had enrolled in Gotham Academy he had always appreciated the landscapes a tad bit more. 

Although, as much as he'd love to admire them, he had other things on his mind.

Jon groaned, leaning away from the window. He was getting a headache just from thinking about yesterday night. What was the matter with Damian?

He had spent the rest of his night trying to figure out what was wrong with his best friend...and didn't get that far. 

Option 1: Damian was depressed. Solution? Give him lots of hugs!

Option 2: Damian was just angry, as usual. Warning - stay away!

Option 3: He just wasn't happy with them being there. Pretty normal.

"Arriving in Gotham."

☯︎~---------------------------------------------------------~☯︎

What was he doing here? Since when did he live in Gotham? Actually, he didn't really keep in contact with him so- that's not the point!

The point is, Felix was a snitch! Always was a little brat. Like Damian, but so much worse (in his opinion)

Adrien had to do something! For the sake of his team: he would be the plus ultra hero they deserved!

The group trailed behind him, most of them hiding behind Damian, apart from Alya and Chloé who were just winding his cousin up, and Lila, who was whispering to Marinette. 

Adrien walked 'inconspicuously' over to Felix, putting on his best angry face, which made him look constipated. "Felix!" he hissed, "What are you doing?"

"I'm just escorting you all to your classes," he sneered, "You and Wayne are in B6, Cesaire and Rossi in B9, Licia and Lahiffe in B8 and Bourgeois-"

"That's not the point! You better not be snitching on us," Adrien warned, tugging him over to the side of the hallway dramatically.

In the corner, Damian watched confusedly, before joining Marinette and Lila.

Adrian implored, "Please Fe! You don't understand, we won't bother you just don't tell!"

Felix looked torn for a moment. His eyes darkened before he suggested a deal. "Fine," he sighed, "But I want to know where you were yesterday."

He hesitated, his eyes filling with fear. Adrian muttered, pouting off to the side. "What did you say?" Felix scoffed.

Adrian rolled his eyes, "We kidnapped Damain Wayne."

Felix lost all of his fancy posture, hand still frozen in the air, before he burst out laughing. "You-you, and your nerdy group kidnapped someone? I don't even want to know the real story, just...just hearing you say that is enough!" he laughed in his face.

"Did you just tell him?" Damian gaped, "He's a blabbermouth! The selfish prick will probably call the police you idiot!"

Felix's smirk gradually fell from his face, "Hold on, did you actually...?"

"He we Mcfucking go again!" Lila growled, "Another fucking Batman interrogation, and then life in jail!" 

"What? Adrian!" Marinette looked to him for help.

"Felix-"

"Wayne?"

"Hey! Youre the ones who fucking kidnapped me! I'm a completely innocent person!"

"Innocent my ass-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say that there are supposed to be things the reader won't understand. Like, for all you know one of the mc's could be hiding a big secret. (hint hint) also, please remember this also supposed to be more funny than serious, but it's both.


	17. A touch of death

"Why are you okay with the fact they kidnapped you?" Felix gaped at him.

Damian scoffed, rolling his eyes at him, "Because they are my...because they are adequate."

"Adequate?" Felix laughed harshly, "That's praise coming from you!"

Marinette bit her lip, eyes glancing over to Alya's watch once more. They were already a minute late to class, and Felix and Damian's 'banter' wasn't helping them.at.all.

The hall was empty and their voices echoed around. If someone was to walk in they'd be in 

even more trouble than before.

"Marinette," she jumped at the hand on her shoulder. Lila was beside her, whispering, "Jon's here - you okay?"

Jon? Oh.

"I'm, um, fine, sorry. Just tired," she peered behind the girls shoulder, spotting the blue eyed boy standing there awkwardly. 

He was fiddling with his phone, before he quickly narrowed his eyes down at it and threw it back in his bag.

Marinette furrowed her brows before deciding to drop it. "You get them to stop arguing, I'll go talk to Jon. 'Kay?"

Lila nodded, stomping up to the boys. Gathering her backpack and purse, she shuffled over to the boy. Jon was around two years younger, but was most certainly taller than her. Wow, he was a giant. 

"Um, hey, " Jon waved, grinning. His eyes darted around, obviously uneasy. Marinette offered a small smile, waving back.

"How are you?" She stuffed her hands in her blazer pockets, hair falling into her face. She blew it away, irked.

He bobbed his head, "Good, good." There was silence, and all you could hear was the shrieking of the two boys, and now Lila. She sighed. "I'm sorry about-" 

A blood-curdling cry cut her off, and she glared at the group as she turned, only to find they all looked as alarmed as her and Jon as they turned to face Nino.

Marinette looked around for danger, promptly rushing in front of Nino who was shaking, slowly lifting his hand to point. "There- over there. Oh, oh fuck-" 

He interrupted himself, stumbling backward into Alya. "Nino? Nino, babe!" Alya clutched onto him, frowning and cupping his face. Chloé quickly rushed to her aide, as well as Lila, who held Nino up.

Her and Damian exchanged a glance, and the two rushed up to the balcony looking over the main office. Adrien sprinted over too, Felix following closely.

"What happened?" Adrien checked over her, grimacing. Marinette swayed further over the balcony, and Damian worriedly rested a hand in front of her chest to prevent her from plummeting off.

They smiled at each other, before blushing and going back to looking over the first floor. Her eyes flew over a wine red figure, and she squinted. 

Her hand flew up to her mouth, and she let out a shaky breath. "Holy shit..." Damian murmured.

\----------------------

The light in the room was broken, and Damian's eyes narrowed as he sat down. His tawny skin was glistening with sweat, and he wiped at his forehead for the hundredth time. Damian shrugged his blazer off, chucking it onto the chair. The button hit Adrien in the arm and he yelped. "Ah, sorry."

"It's fine." Adrien chuckled. He placed Damian's jacket back onto his seat, crossing his knees, "It's pretty hot in here, eh?"

"Yeah."

Damian leaned backwards on his chair, zipping open his bag and fiddling around for his phone. The screen went bright and he clicked on messages. One voicemail.

"Hey little D! You okay? I heard someone got injured at your school, you're not hurt right? Bruce told me you're at the police station. Me and Timmy are coming to pick you up! Love you!" 

He groaned, switching it off and shoving it back into his bag. "That's your brother right? He seems nice," Adrien smiled, placing his own bag on the floor. "I wish I had siblings."

"Nice but overbearing. You can have him, if you want." Damian joked, attempting to lighten the conversation. It seemed it was the right thing to do as the boy beside him laughed and grinned at him. Damian thought that Adrien didn't really like him, so he was happy that the blonde found him funny, at least.

"Hey!" Marinette jogged over to them, carrying a few papers, "Jon and Felix are staying for questioning since they knew the boy. Felix looked really sad." 

"Well, at least we don't have to walk with him," Adrien shrugged, and Damian attempted to hide his laugh in a cough. Marinette glared at him. He cleared his throat, "So, who was the boy?"

"Um, i have it here, hold on..." she flicked through the papers, "Claude, uh, Claude Kidd. Our age," she grimaced, swiftly putting the files away. "He was dead on arrival."

"Oh." Was all that Adrien said, before wrapping himself in his coat. "Are we going back to school?" 

"Yeah. Officer Gordon said they would call us if they needed us again," Marinette clipped back her newly cut bangs, "God, it's hot in here!"

"I know," Adrien frowned. 

Damian stuffed his jacket into his bag before putting it on, "My brothers are coming to pick us up."

"Oh, that's nice." she smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"How are we going to meet the others?" Damian queried, beginning to walk out with them. The door swung open, and all three of them took in the cold air with open arms. "Fresh air," Adrien mumbled.

"Alya and Nino went home, and Lila and Chloe are both feeling sick from seeing the body, so it's just us!" she beamed, joining hands with both of them. Only now did Damian notice how short Marinette was, he could probably rest his chin on her head. That was quite an achievement, since Damian was considered short for his age, Falling just at Adrien's nose.

He had all the time in the world to admire her from afar. They had all the same classes except for Tutor groups.

Just him and her - and Adrien, but he was nice. Plus, he wasn't into Marinette-

"Demon Spawn! Earth to demon!" his brothers wretched voice cut through his thought process, and Damian glowered at him and his red car. Behind him Grayson was waving childishly at them, and he rolled his eyes.

"Hi," Marinette shifted foot to foot, awkwardly dropping both their hands.

"It's nice to meet you both properly!" Dick teased, "Get in guys."

\----------------------

"So, how are you all?" Dick asked, and Damian would have complained about how his jubilant voice was giving him a major migraine, but he couldn't be bothered. All that stuck in his head was the image of that boy's blood-soaked body, torn apart. Damian didn't doubt that was also what the other two were thinking of. He had seen many gruesome things, but this one was...different. He wouldn't be able to forget it.

"Good, how about you?" Adrien said. Marinette leant onto him, yawning. He bit his lip, flushing, hoping that his brothers were paying more attention to the model than her and him.

"Great, thanks," Drake spoke, sipping his disgusting coffee, "I heard something happened at school? Is everything alright?"

He and Damian glanced at each other. Seeing no signs of warning in his green eyes, Adrien replied, "Someone was murdered. It was really bad, so I'm not actually sure the school will be open when we get there."

"Jesus." Dick winced, "Who fucking murders a school kid. People nowadays..."

Adrien hummed in agreement, slouching into his bag and peering out the window.

Marinette's phone buzzed, and as soon as Damian felt her head leave his shoulder his brain selfishly told him to pull her back, and he internally slapped himself. He didn't need her affection that much.

Marinette pressed her phone on, and a message popped up from Chloe. She smiled. 

{Hey mari. Me and lila are heading home to Alya and Shellhead. You're lucky you weren't there. Poor boy was fcking torn to shreds, I swear I saw his bones poking out. Lila threw up in the room, and Nino just blacked out. The sick bastard had stabbed him 30 times in the abdomen. Anyways, love u gurl.}

Marinette gagged, swallowing the bile in her throat. She decided no one else in the car needed to hear that. Her lips parted as she felt a hand rest on her own, and turned to face Damian looking away, absentmindedly pouting, ears red. Giggling, she leaned back into him.

Damian snuggled into her hair, clutching her hand tighter. She was so warm, and he was always so cold. It was like they were made for each other. Soulmates. He didn't usually believe that stuff, and even if it wasn't true, he loved the thought of it. He really had fallen in love with her on sight. Her smile, her eyes, her warmth, her laugh, her voice, her existence, her.

Little did he know, the blonde boy in the other seat was having the same thoughts, wishing to be in Damians shoes for just one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh


	18. Mystery in the graves

__**Adrien  
  
**

My hands hovered over the papers once again - I couldn't stop going back to them. Something bothered me. It wasn't right. Well, of course it wasn't good, but...This was just different.

We had pulled up to school a few minutes ago, and as we expected, it was not open. Damian's family had kindly offered to drive us back home. They seemed like very lovely people, despite our rocky start. The car was pulling up to the turn to our street, and everyone was engaging in friendly chat.

"You guys want to go straight home, or you got another place in mind?" Dick asks, smiling, as usual. He was nice. Funny too I guess. The man could come off as slightly cocky to some, but he was a good guy from what I had seen in the twenty minutes we had been in the car. Twenty-one, I thought.

"We were just going to head straight home," Marinette says, piling slowly away from Damian's lap even though everyone in the car could see their lovey-dovey eyes at each other. I most certainly could. "You wanna go anywhere, Adrikins?"

I could practically sense Damian's tenseness at the nickname, and I almost laughed. Almost. As a matter of fact, I could sense Damian's emotions. It was literally my power. Not that I would use it against him, or anyone.

I frowned. "We should probably head back home," I glimpsed over as Marinette made herself at home in his arms, "I think we're all getting tired."

"Mhm." Dick says, before groaning and changing the music to Lady Gaga album. At least it was good. I heard Tim snigger beside him, before focusing on the road again.

Shoving the papers into my bag I glanced over to them, which I quickly regretted.

Marinette was humming along to the music, very lazily, "Caught in a bad rooo-" she yawned, "-maaaance." He snorted, pulling her into his shoulder to muffle her off-pitch mumbling. Marinette wrapped her arms around him, thrashing about and playfully trying to escape his clutch.

"Don't get too comfy," Damian murmured against her head. She giggled. I could see his smirk after his statement, and I groaned. I really needed to escape this nightmare-filled backseat. I also needed chocolate. Lots of it.

**_Damian_ **

Pushing the car door closed, he almost ran into the house, leaving his two brothers in surprise. Reaching his room he leaped onto his bed and threw his bag to the side. He shrugged his blazer off and hung it on his chair before he began to unbutton his shirt. Yawning, his hands rummaged around blindly in his dresser for clothes.

Damian lifted out a loose sweater, a light lemon color, and also, black jogging bottoms. A few minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom wearing them, his hair messy and falling over his forehead.

Once again, he slumped onto his bed. The bed was a double, and the best you could buy. Damian had secretly littered it with pictures of his family and friends - not that he would tell them. He threw his head back onto the pillow, and smiled slightly. The time spent with Marinette, and Adrien, was good, despite someone dying. Maybe he should be more focused on that.

Yeah, he probably should.

His phone beside him buzzed, to which he jolted, before relaxing after hearing the familiar Whatsapp sound. Lazily, he rolled onto his side and rolled his sleeves up. It was Jon's sweater, and the boy, although a year younger, was much taller than him, so it was slightly too long on his arms. Damian had to admit it was the most comfortable piece of clothing that he (stole) owned.

One message from Marinette - beloved.

A red tint spread across his cheeks, as he tried to hold back his grin which was threatening to spread from ear-to-ear.

_Marinette_

_Damiiiii_

_⅓ x 4t = 1 over 48. What is T??? I'm too tired give me the answer_

Snorting, he hung over the bed and grabbed a hold of his bag. Damian pulled out his textbook, skimming through the pages.

_Marinette_

_Please_

_My brain is melting_

_Damian_

_What's the question number?_

_Marinette_

_53_

_Aghghj Hghh_

_The otherz wont do their homework_

_They r all lazy_

_ Damian _

_t=- 2_

_Also, your awful texting is killing me_

_Marinette_

_Ur such a old man dami_

_Damian_

_*an old man_

_Thank you_

_Marinette_

_Ugh whatever we r having dinner in a min_

_Have 2 go_

_Boomer_

_Damian_

_Young people are so rude nowadays_

Damian shut his phone off, placing it back onto his dresser. He rested his hands on his knees and began to swing his legs back and forth. People might think that it was weird for a boy his age to want school to be open, but to Damian, it was an opportunity. To swoon over Marinette, that is. He would have had all day to do it.

Huffing, he leaned his cheek onto his hand, awfully drowsy. Speaking of the school shutting down, he was once again reminded of that horrible sight and the unfortunate boy. You'd think such an austere academy would never have any incidents. In truth, it was just as dark and gloomy as the rest of Gotham. His father had to swoop in and save the day many times there, in costume of course.

People had started to call the school Batman's favourite location as a joke. Damian scrunched his nose up in distaste. "It's not even comical," he muttered.

There was ten minutes until dinner, so there was really no point in starting his essay at the moment. Stephanie was coming, so attendance was mandatory as it was a...family meal. Richard was staying for two weeks as Kori was off planet somewhere, so they were having a gathering.

Perhaps some sketching would occupy his time.

A while later, Damian, hands covered with graphite and red pencil, had finished a whole spread of his sketchbook. An entire 2 pages of Marinette, and few of the others. His favourite was one of her smiling, red dusting her cheeks and nose, pink on her lips. Her hair was wavy, and she was wearing a gorgeously drawn pink blouse.

The shading on it was very good- quite good, actually. It might've been the best he had ever done. He had impressed himself.

It wasn't all just realistic either. Damian did realism, and took pride in being good in it. But ever since he had visited an art shop somewhere in California around two years ago, he had found himself curious about what the cashier was drawing as he paid for some paint. She had clearly seen his interest, and offered to show him before he left. He had to admit he was awestruck at the amount of creativity she had captured, and practised the art of cartoonism for years to try and perfect it.

Damian might've even favoured it over realism.

"Dami!"

He almost fell off the bed in surprise, yelping and clutching his book to his chest. No one else knew of his new art style and he intended to keep it that way.

"Little D," Grayson cheered through the crack beneath his door. He sighed in relief. "It's time for Dinner!"


End file.
